The
Victorian villa garden was an expression of taste, wealth, education, fashion,
and possession. The owners of these villa gardens showed that they were
important members of society in a significant way. It was a status symbol for
these citizens. The garden was a lush expression of their potential and it was
a way to communicate this message to everyone.
The
Victorian villa gardens were privately owned and the owner employed a gardener
to design and shape their leisurely landscape. There were several commonalities
between the different villa gardens that united them to each other, and the
Victorian style. The villas garden commonalities included a formal garden close
to the house itself. The formal structured gardens included various elements
such as parterres, flower beddings, and historical references through
sculpture. The formal garden then made way for the informal garden which
extended further from the house. Once the visitor walked further from the
house, the geometrical layout and ordered patterns left the garden as long
stretching and looping pathways, fields, forests, and vistas were the main
focus of the informal garden. While these elements tied villa gardens together,
there were items that made the villa gardens particularly Victorian. A great
variety of foreign and colorful flowers was a Victorian garden trait. Plant
hunters would send back samples to Europe and have them replicated for all
wealthy landowners to place in their gardens. Another Victorian age element was
beddings. Orchids were particularly rare and sought after. Flower beddings were
low-growing flowers that were colorfully arranged in aesthetically pleasing
shapes and figures. With the higher availability of flowers for this particular
type of feature, the flower beddings could become more and more complicated and
impressive. More features of the Victorian Gardens can be found here: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1356400599248/
Inspiration
for the Victorian villa garden came from the oscillation of fashion in the
gardening world. Before the Victorian garden, the English Landscape garden was
very popular. There has been a constant struggle between natural and controlled
in gardens. In the English Landscape garden, the layout was much more natural.
By the time that the Victorian age came about, the sponsors were interested in swinging
the interest back to making the garden more controlled. They were interested in
reviving classical ideas and making elements that showed the structured control
of flowers in the garden. Yet, the full swing of fashion interests did not
quite reach the intensity of the Baroque, and still retained elements of
informality and nature. The natural elements of English Landscapes were not
quite eliminated from the garden and were maintained throughout the Victorian villa
gardens.
Victorian
villa gardens were a unique fusion of typical Victorian garden design and
personal adjustments. The villa and personal ownership allowed tweaking and
editing of the Victorian elements in the garden. Yet, designers always included
classic Victorian features in their gardens. Parterres, flower beds, and a mix
of formal and informal gardens were unique to Victorian villa gardens.
