The Victorian Villa Garden

The inspiration of the Victorian Villa Garden was in fact in the murder of the natural landscape. This rebellion against the eighteenth century landscape park was fueled by the idea that ‘Gardens are works of art rather than of nature’--- a previous thought of landscape artists such as that of Capability Brown, in the thought that the the idea of a landscape design was to let nature run it’s course and to creating the most natural-looking landscape possible. This new thought of a garden as a work of art became prominent in the early 1800s. As quoted in the Victorian Gardens by Brent Elliott “No theme is more important, no sentiment so regularly expressed, in the Victorian literature on gardening, than this affirmation of the artistic and unnatural character of the garden. Just like the minds of individuals, gardening was now meant to be independent, imaginative, and original. Nature was no longer the sought after leader, and gardens were no longer meant to be subservient to it’s rule. The new leader in charge was now Art, and it held much control over that of the Victorian Villa Garden. 

Garden magazines were now becoming the latest trend, and the influx of exotic plants was widely desired in gardens across the globe, and many technical innovations were in place. Many forces shaped the Victorian Garden, further advancing all that it became. Labor-saving devices such as the lawn mower and transplanting machines, and devices that measure tree heights. Railways made bringing materials straight to sites easier, and made carting other materials across the country much faster. The production of new materials such as concrete and asphalt made laying foundations and building architecture much more possible and easier. One of the most important of new materials was glass. The production of sheet glass fueled the construction of hearty greenhouses, capable of being heated and letting in sunlight. 

(The Great Conservatory, Chatsworth. One of the largest designs and innovations in greenhouse production)

Composed of three different components of the grounds, the Victorian Villa Garden became a beautiful multi-dimensional display of pleasant greenery and productivity. The formal garden, the pleasure grounds, and the kitchen garden made up all the different aspects of the villa garden. Included in the formal garden was geometric bedding arranged in formal displays, and this garden most often included the greenhouses, were exotic specimens among plants, fruits, fungi, or succulents were kept and grown. The pleasure gardens were the only aspect of the garden that potentially still maintained the ideals of the english landscape garden, more removed from the house towards the end of the property was the  pleasure gardens, which had the most ‘natural’ feel. Ponds and paths, rockeries, and collections of plants in bedding characterized this gardenesque area. The kitchen gardens were the productive gardens and were most often situated right near the house for easy access to materials used for cooking. Here common vegetables, fruits, and herbs were cultivated and harvested. Orchards were also among this space. With many aspects to the Victorian Villa Garden, the concept was widely popularized and heavily copied.

(Victorian Garden- formal garden and kitchen garden, without pleasure grounds pictured)