THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS AND CONCEPTS OF ENGLISH LANDSCAPE GARDENS

The English landscape garden is a unique phenomenon in the history of landscape gardening, marking a radical departure from the geometric rigor of formal French medieval parks. It originated in Great Britain in the early 18th century and established new principles of landscape organization. It is based not only on the subordination of nature to strict architecture, but on the desire to create a natural landscape, inspired by classical and romantic painting.

The first gardens, appeared in central England, were distinguished by poetic landscapes, a flowing structure, and a delicate palette. Their creators were the artist-architect William Kent and the royal gardener Charles Bridgeman, who were inspired by ancient Roman parks and the plain-air paintings of the classical era, although they borrowed many details from the gardens of Italy. By the end of the 18th century, the English landscape style quickly spread throughout Europe, including Russia. For example, Catherine the Great was delighted with the natural beauty of the English landscape, its rounded forms, picturesque ponds, and colorful flowerbeds.

It is a fact that the English garden gravitates not toward wild nature, but toward pastoral painting. The gardener’s task is to recreate a luxurious idyllic landscape corresponding to benchmark examples of classical painting or collectible postcards. Despite their outward simplicity, English parks are distinguished by meticulous elaboration of all elements, including color combinations, halftones, transitions and contrasts. They are perceived as an example of aristocracy, nobility and sophistication. Such principles as plant abundance (a wide range of flowers, grasses and trees); unity with nature (natural materials for decoration and finishing); organization of soft smooth boundaries providing a visual flow of spaces; contrast (a combination of different shades, volumes, and textures); antiquity (vintage furniture, artificially aged surfaces, antique-style decor) must be observed.

The English landscape style has developed several basic types of park composition: picturesque parks, romantic or Gothic parks, garden and park compositions, parks-gardens, and “picture” parks or landscape theatres.

The picturesque or landscape park is a classical form striving for maximum naturalness. The composition is built on the principle of "picturesqueness". It means open lawns with curved banks of ponds, and groups of trees form the foreground. The goal is to create an idealized pastoral, where architecture (pavilions and bridges) organically blends into the natural surroundings. Plants of this type of park are selected on the principle of creating an idealized pastoral landscape. The assortment is formed of Quercus robur (English oak), Acer platanoides 'Crimson King' (Norway maple), Fagus sylvatica 'Purpurea' (Purple beech), Syringa vulgaris (common lilac), Philadelphus coronarius (crown mock orange), Poa pratensis (meadow bluegrass), Rhododendron (rhododendron), Magnolia soulangeana and roses of the David Austin.  

 The Romantic or Gothic park is focused on emotions and the effect of "pleasant melancholy". The characteristic elements include artificial ruins, grottoes, mausoleums, "philosophical" alleys, and unexpected views. The space is often built on contrast—a dark, shady grove and a sunlit valley, creating the theatricality and the elements of unpredictability typical of Gothic Romance. Plants grown in the romantic park are designed to create a mysterious atmosphere with a predominance of dark and purple hues. The assortment includes species that form dense shadows and "moon" flower beds: Fagus sylvatica 'Purpurea' (European beech), Acer pseudoplatanus 'Atropurpureum' (sycamore maple), Taxus baccata (yew), Tulipa 'Queen of Night' (tulip), Convallaria majalis (lily of the valley), Lilium 'Landini' (lily), Dahlia 'Arabian Night' (dahlia) and Alcea rosea 'Nigra' (hollyhock).

The Garden and park composition known as the style "Brown" and "Repton" means an engineered approach to nature. It is characterized by simplified composition, eliminating geometry: grassy lawns come right to the doorstep of the house, individual trees or picturesque groups scattered along the hillsides. Humphry Repton added terraces with flowerbeds near the house, compensating for the excessively "wild" appearance. The plants characteristic of the park in the style of Lancelot Brown adhere to the principle of minimalism: smooth lawns, free-standing clamps, and edge strips without excessive decoration. The assortment includes local large-sized trees and undemanding hydrophytes and Ulmus laevis (white elm), Tilia platyphyllos (large-leaved linden), Salix alba (white willow), Agrostis stolonifera (bent grass), and Nymphaea alba (white water lily).

The park-garden appeared in the 19th century is characterized by decorativeness. Exotic plants, variegated flowerbeds and bright flower gardens dominate here. They are often hidden behind "green walls" of shrubs. Plants of the English-style park garden are distinguished by their maximum planting density and a mixture of ornamental, aromatic, and fruit crops. The assortment is based on a continuous flowering cycle: Clematis, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Paeonia lactiflora, Delphinium ‘Belladonna’, Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Rozanne’, Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ (lavender), Salvia nemorosa ‘Ostfriesland’ (sage), Calendula officinalis, Lathyrus odoratus, and columnar Malus domestica (apple tree).

The “picture” or landscape theatre park is a method brought to perfection by Prince Pückler. This is not just a park, but a consistent chain of architectural “curtains” and well-thought-out viewpoints. The route is planned so that every turn of the path reveals a "postcard" (an ancient temple, a waterfall, or a Palladian bridge). Each vantage point requires a perfect combination of volume, color, and light. The plants characteristic of Prince Pückler's picture park are rare exotics and monochrome (blue-and-light blue) compositions. Forsythia ovata (forsythia), Wisteria sinensis (wisteria), ‘Latifolia’ (chaste tree), Scilla sibirica (scilla), Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ (brunnera), Verbena bonariensis (verbena), Iris sibirica (iris), Ageratum houstonianum ‘Blue Mink’ (ageratum), Allium ‘Globemaster’ (ornamental onion), Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’ (fescue), Lilium bulbiferum (bulbous lily), and Rosa centifolia (centipede rose) grow in this type of park.

All five types of English landscape gardens share a common theme: subservience to nature, imitating a natural, non-man-made landscape, rejecting straight lines and geometric shapes. The composition of each type is built according to the principles of landscape painting (with a distinct foreground, middle ground, and background), which implies an open layout with curved paths and smooth transitions between zones without rigid boundaries. A common feature is also an aristocratic restraint: an avoidance of variegation, a priority on shades and halftones. In all cases, architectural elements (pavilions, bridges, ruins, benches) are integrated into the natural environment and the space is organized for leisurely strolls, changing viewpoints, and contemplation.