The Nineteenth Century:

Picturesque , Sublime, and Mixed

The Picturesque Aesthetic.  English gardeners sought to produce the illusion of Nature in her wild and free state in such a way that the formal operations and artificial arrangments did not dominate the picture.  This was done with compromise and a more or less arbitrary use of artifice.  To achieve these ends it was necessary to do violence to Nature.  Nature was trimmed and reconstructed to make her appearance fascinating, surprising, and free from limitations.

Humphrey Repton, the landscape designer for Woburn Abbey, had four principles:

• 1. The garden must bring out the natural beauty and conceal the natural defects of the site.

• 2. It should give an impression of extent and freedom by carefully disguising boundaries.

• 3. It must studiously conceal every interference of art, however expensive, by which the scenery is improved, making the whole appear the production of Nature only.

• 4. All objects of mere convenience or comfort, if incapable of being made ornamental, or of becoming proper parts of the general scenery, must be removed or concealed

Woburn Abbey

Mixed Style

Two Inventions of the 1830s Vital to Garden History:

• Lawn Mower

• Wardian Case (Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, On the Growth of Plants in Closely Glazed Cases, 1842)