The Victorian Gardener

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Britain's first female professional landscape gardener, Fanny Wilkinson is best known for the designs of countless parks and public spaces across London. After training as the first female pupil of the School of Gardening at the Crystal Palace in Sydenham, she went on to join the Council of the Kyrle Society in 1881 and was elected honorary landscape gardener to the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association which formed in 1882 to provide "to the people gardens, and to the children playgrounds." Wild gardens as a contrast to the increasingly industrialised world, with bluebell and snowdrop patches and wild flowers With the social and economic advances, the British had more leisure time on their hands than ever before, and one result of this was the “Victorian garden.” Beautiful gardens and landscaping weren’t just for kings and queens anymore! Victorians were particularly keen on fernsand collecting expeditions set off in all directions. There was even a name for the addiction, Pteridomania or Fern-Fever resulting in the near extinction of some nativespecies. Wilkinson is estimated to have laid out more than 75 public gardens with the MPGA. She was also an activist and political campaigner and advocated for the professionalisation of women's work, once saying: "I certainly do not let myself be underpaid [...] I know my profession and charge accordingly, as all women should do."

Experiments to create hybrid plants had begun in the 1830s. Many took place at the laboratory garden at Down House, in Kent, where the legendary naturalist, biologist and geologist Charles Darwin learned how to adapt orchids for fertilisation. In the Victorian era, from 1837 to 1901, gardening became a pastime that could be enjoyed by the masses. An increase in population led to more middle-class families moving to the suburbs, while new technology made gardening easier, and more diverse plants boosted interest. Gardening became a status symbol of the industrial revolution. Steve Bowhay explains how he has achieved it. "I use trees that have blown over with intact root systems. I trim and clean out the roots before standing them up. I dig a hole about 10 feet deep using an excavator, then lift the stump with chains so that the trunk is facing down and insert it into the hole. Once secure fashion fish net over the roots. I place live moss on the net hanging down and cover the roots of the moss with potting soil. Then I plant the flowers." How to make a DIY stumpery in your garden: 3 easy steps to follow One import from the Victorian era not looked upon so fondly is Fallopia japonica, better known as Japanese knotweed.

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It is now an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to plant or grow Japanese knotweed. Special measures are needed to dispose of it. Want to find out more about Victorian gardens? English gardens are beautiful and every era has its own garden style, so there are medieval, Tudor, Georgian, Victorian, Arts and Crafts gardens as well as gardens between the two World Wars and Post-War gardens. The Victorian Era in the United Kingdom is the period of the reign of Queen Victoria beginning on June 20th, 1837, until her death on January 22nd, 1901. There were a lot of changes, politically, socially, and religiously during this time. It was also an era of advancement in science, technology, and engineering. The period known as the Mid-Victorian era (1850-1870) has been called Britain’s “Golden Years” by historians, as increased industrialization led to a growth in the national income. There was peace abroad and at home.

One style, called carpet bedding, was a much more precise and manicured look that involved selecting flowers of all the same height. This style often meant creating designs (geometric shapes and mosaics) within the bed using symmetry and colors. This approach requires a decent amount of planning and precision, but the look can be incredible. Gardening during the Victorian era was usually characterized by the great decor and elaborate arrangements. This 1881 map shows that within the walled garden there was a pond with a bridge over the centre. The area marked ‘20’ on the map shows the position of a Cedar of Lebanon tree, photographed by Matthew. The cross-hatched sections indicate glasshouses. ‘Hertfordshire Ordnance Survey, Six-inch to the mile’, surveyed 1881, published 1884 [4] Photograph of a Cedar of Lebanon in the garden at Stagenhoe Park taken from the upper windows of the house, c. 1846-1869 Comparably prolific to Capability Brown, the great landscape gardener Humphry Repton is credited with creating around 400 designs in his working life. A follower of Brown, Repton lived and worked later and adapted his approach to meet the changing fashions of the early 19th century. He was also something of a Renaissance man — starting out as a merchant, later a writer of several books on landscape design and a skilled painter. He used his artistic ability for his horticultural work, providing clients with 'Red Books' containing detailed and romanticised sketches of finished landscapes.If you take a look at the pictures of the famous Victorian era gardens, you will find that they knew how to utilize decor outer space of their house. These outdoor parlors were not only used to impress the guests but were also used for entertainment. These days, lawn care commercials send a clear message: not only should I be focusing all my mental and physical energy on my lawn from the moment the snow starts to melt, but the state of my yard is also the greatest indicator of my status as a man. A young lady might choose to lead her escort along a woodland path dappled with shade. In the springtime, there would be a carpet of scented English bluebells together with primroses, foxgloves and wild violets. Ferns were also tremendously popular with the Victorians, expeditions set off in all directions to collect new varieties resulting in the near extinction of some native species. As we can see in Matthew’s plant list, many plants were named after the Head Gardeners, their wives, and possibly their employers or notable figures. For example, Donald Beaton (a ‘star’ Head Gardener in Scotland), Mrs Woodroffe, Lord Raglan, and Mrs Nightingale (possibly Florence). Watercolour bedding design for Stagenhoe Park by Matthew Balls, and photograph of executed scheme, c. 1846-1869 Arguably one of the most famous gardens in the UK if not the world, the crowning jewel of Kew is undoubtedly Temperate House, the world’s largest Victorian glasshouse, which houses many rare and endangered species of plant. If your tastes are more traditional though, the Rose Garden, designed by renowned English landscape architect William Nesfield in 1848, makes for a fragrant wander. Typical features of a Victorian garden