Flowers in victorian gardens

Victorian Gardens: Their History, Significance, And Essential Elements

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.

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!

The wealthy had larger spaces for their gardens, but the middle class wasn’t left out. With all the changes taking place, middle-class families didn’t have to focus their gardening only on food necessities (fruits, veggies, herbs). They could use some of that extra free time to create beautiful gardens with visuals and aesthetics.

Lawn

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.

In Victorian Gardens, a manicured lawn was a canvas for the garden and landscaping as a whole.

The lawns needed to be green and well-maintained because that’s where one would throw parties, play lawn games, and serve tea to their guests. But it also would be the base for all the trees, shrubs, flowers, and ornamentation that are the staple of any classic Victorian garden.

Flowers

Flower gardens and beds were a favorite of classic Victorian-era gardeners. Two very different design styles emerged.

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.

The other design style from this time is called ‘Herbaceous Border’ (AKA’ Perennial Border’). This style emerged a little later in the Victorian Era and was popularized by the famous British horticulturist, Gertrude Jekyll. Jekyll’s Herbaceous Border garden design creates a dramatic effect by using multiple colors, shapes, and sizes on a large scale.

Start with the smaller plants along a border and then use larger plants as you move out from the edges with the tallest ones in the back, packing everything tight together. I have generally seen this style of design used to frame a pathway. When used on both sides of a path, it can be quite dynamic.

The reason it’s called a herbaceous/perennial border is that the plants used in this style are, big surprise, perennial herbaceous plants. These are plants that live for more than two years and are soft-stemmed and non-woody.

The following is a list of classic Victorian flower varieties to get you started:

Acacia, Ageratum, Alonsoa, Amaranthus, Aster
Scarlet Basil, Begonia Tuberous, Begonia, Bluebell
Caladium, Calendula, Campanula, Chrysanthemum, Cobaea, Cockscomb, Coleus
Dianthus, Dusty Miller, Fern, Fuschia
Geranium, Scented Geranium, Heliotrope
Impatiens Lobelia Marigold, Moonflower, Morning Glory, Nasturtium
Oxalis Pansy, Periwinkle, Petunia, Portulaca, Primrose, Rose, Miniature Rose
Snapdragon, Sweet Alyssum, Thunbergia, Verbena, Zinnia

Fencing

Fencing was essential to Victorian gardens. In part, it was used to delineate property lines. But there was also, as with everything else, the ability to display one’s economic status with the type of fencing used.

Cast iron was the material of choice for folks of the Victorian era, and often, the more impressive the home, the more ornate was the garden fencing.

Those that couldn’t do cast iron could get away with rustic wood fencing, as long as it wasn’t a wood picket fence. Those were considered old fashion and – if used at all – would have to be covered/hidden using vines or shrubs.

And speaking of shrubs, they could be used as fencing all on their own. Marking pathways, bordering property lines, or hiding a house’s unattractive foundation are all ways that you can use shrubs in your landscaping when channeling your inner Victorian Era gardener.

Author

Jesse grew up obsessed with movies and so it only makes sense that he graduated from McGill University with a degree in Political Science. He then put that degree to good use with a job at a video store. After that he spent months backpacking around Europe - a continent that he has been back to visit many times since. Jesse is super curious and loves to learn and explore new subjects. For the last 15+ years he has been writing online for a number of different sites and publications covering everything from film and television to website reviews, dating and culture, history, news and sports. He’s worn many hats - which is ironic because he actually loves wearing hats and he has many different ones.

Victorian Gardens Were Once The Envy Of The World, Here's How To Create One In The 21st Century

By Lianna Tedesco

Published Apr 1, 2021

It's easy to see why a Victorian garden would be the envy of your neighbors but during the 1800s, they were the envy of anyone who walked through them

via Shutterstock

The Victorian Era might be romanticized through both literature and film but it wasn't without its faults and downfalls. While many things created during this era quickly became more of a hindrance than a help, there was one aspect of this time period that only continued to grow in its beauty: gardens.

Related: New To Gardening? These Expert-Approved Tools Should Be Taking Up Room In Your Shed

The gardens of the Victorian Era are still held in high regard today with teams of knowledgeable gardeners helping to maintain those which still exist around the world. These gardens came out of a time during the Victorian Era when life was a bit easier, a bit more carefree, and people could see through the smoke and appreciate the beauty that existed simply in a flower or plant. This is also a time when people coveted exotic plants and made it a goal to collect as many as they could, leading to enticing (albeit dangerous) garden collections such as Alnwick. However, a majority of the gardens were simply harmless, showcasing the most vibrant and regal of the plant world for all to enjoy. To plant a garden is simple, to plant a Victorian-esque atmosphere, though, takes some time and planning.

The Appearance Of A Victorian Garden

Gardens during this era were a thing of true beauty but also had a level of visual interest to them. The elegance was obvious in the choice of flowering plants but it was the arrangement, and the styles of both the lawn and the fencing used to contain it all, that truly made the difference. For the wealthy, geometric shapes and patterns would often be considered when planting certain flowers. A plant's height and color would factor into where it was placed to create something that was appealing to the eye both from the ground as well as where it would be seen from above. This technique of carefully planning the placement of each arrangement has resulted in some of the most interesting gardens around the world and has inspired many smaller, at-home gardens because of it. This is also where the idea of mosaic gardening came from, with each flower representing a different mosaic 'piece' of the puzzle.

That's not to say that garden beds were nonexistent in a Victorian garden. Gardeners would lean toward this for those who didn't have the money to create elaborate landscapes and, rather, introduced garden beds and formal gardens, which were easier to plan out but just as beautiful. Today, these would be the equivalent of raised garden beds to create separation and interest.

The fencing surrounding a Victorian garden, if any, was one of its most iconic aspects. The Victorian Era is where we get wrought-iron fencing and gates from, and the same fencing that protected a manor or castle was miniaturized and used for gardens, as well. Often, these fences would showcase trailing vines such as roses or flowering vines which interlaced with the fence itself, turning it into a beautiful combination of harsh metal and soft, delicate blossoms. This visual was highly effective when it came to gardening because it created borders but also allowed the garden to maintain its charm and enchanted nature, something many gardens imitate today. Wood fencing, such as picket fences, was a more affordable option but was viewed as outdated during the Victorian Era.

The Flowers That Bloomed From The Victorian Era

Britain's 'Golden Years' happened during the Victorian Era and this period of peace and prosperity, socially and economically, led to the explosion of leisurely gardening - regardless of social class, status, or income. The custom was no longer unattainable to anyone who didn't own a mansion or have a hefty cash flow, which allowed it to be enjoyed by everyone. This is also what led to so many different styles, including bedding, which is what was used for mosaic gardens; flowers that were lower to the ground and bloomed in bright hues were often chosen for this. This method also required a lawn that was well-maintained and manicured often, as green grass served as the backdrop. As opposed to the very precise style of mosaic, the 'Herbaceous Border' garden became popular in the late 1800s by Gertrude Jekyll, a popular horticulturist. The technique here was simple and used height order to create edges along pathways, using smaller flowers first and increasing in size as the rows went back, packing plants close together. The flowers used should be a colorful array of options and must be perennial, which means they'll bloom consistently for at least two years.

What about the types of flowers used? This, of course, was dependent on the funds that were available and the availability of each bulb or seed. One would never find sunflowers, pansies, snapdragons, hollyhocks, or larkspur in a Victorian garden - they were considered old news. Rather, one could look forward to bold, interesting, and unique flower shapes and colors, such as lilies, dahlias, orchids, ferns, gladiolus, and ornamental grasses. Moonflower, morning glories, petunias, sweet alyssum, primroses, and roses would also be seen, and some are easier to keep than others.

Next: If You're Planning A Spring Garden, These Things Should Be On Your To-Do List

Subscribe to our newsletter

Victorian flower gardens in historic parks

Gardens and parks of Russia and the world

The 19th century is known to have been famous for its magnificent landscape-style gardens, some of which have been preserved or restored in many European countries. The best examples of such gardens exist to this day in England. Particularly impressive are the successes of the English of the 19th century in breeding and promoting new varieties of various types of summer and perennial flowers into the culture. Fashion for certain new items instantly spread across countries and continents, and therefore, garden fashion changed quite often. Sometimes she returned to temporarily forgotten styles or individual elements, but with a fresh “filling” of them with modern plants. So, in the middle of the 19th century, nostalgia for “good old Victorian England” returned, when excess and excess dominated reason and order. A similar return to history was expressed in the improvement of landscape effects in the transition from the house to the surrounding space. The garden was again used as an extension of the house. From the Italian Renaissance gardens, the principles of a clear organization of the space around the houses were taken: the use of terraces, stairs, balustrades with vases, from the elevation of which one could admire the view perspectives and flower beds of geometric shapes spread at the foot. It was recommended to use unusual plants or non-traditional ways of planting them. For example, such a type of flower garden as a “pincushion” was a concentric circle of plants of different heights. Another type is the “flower theatre”, which showed fashionable exotics at that time, including agaves, dracaenas, and cicadas. Gradually, flower gardens filled the entire space around the house, displacing even the lawns so beloved by the British. It was important to demonstrate the greatest possible species and varietal diversity of plants, to show the wealth of taste and knowledge of the owners in the field of botany and floriculture. The peak of the development of gardens in the "Victorian" style came in the 1870s, when the color and species diversity of plants reached its apogee.

Of course, the successes of European gardeners could not bypass Russia, where many foreign gardeners worked in the imperial gardens of the 19th century. A large number of plants were ordered and ordered from abroad for the newly built Peterhof summer residences. In archival affairs of the 1830s - 40s. There are orders from the gardener Erler for levkoy 3 varieties, hydrangeas 2 types, “terry tuberoses” (tuberose tuberous - Polyanthus tuberosa), dahlias 150 varieties, rhododendrons 9-ti varieties, azaleas 12 varieties, centifolia roses 247 (!) varieties, viola three-color 36 varieties, etc. This huge number of plants, even by today's standards, was intended, first of all, for the Cottage Palace in Alexandria, as well as for the new islands in the Kolonistsky Park - Olgin and Tsaritsyn, walking along the paths of which created the feeling that you were walking on a flower carpet with endless variety of pattern colors. The historical assortment of plants in flower beds is represented by geranium, heliotrope, verbena, ageratum, Drummondi phlox, snapdragon, petunia. The floral arrangement of Holguin Island contains a large collection of perennials arranged in flowerbeds according to height and flowering time. Flowerbeds in the form of a “cake”, characteristic of the second half of the 19th century, are filled with blooming dahlias, lilies, phlox, rudbeckia, helichrysum and are “lined” with annuals from the historical list: mesembryanthemum, silena (smolevka), brachiko-my, lobelia, erizimum. Creating a variety of decorative effects involves an annual change in the composition of flower beds and the color range of crops.

Olga Dmitrievna Volkova, chief specialist in landscape architecture of the Peterhof State Museum-Reserve

-17 December 2009).

Victorian Plots & Gardens - Top 135 Photos, Plot, Garden & Garden Landscaping

Comfortably Formal

Hortus Oasis

This almost one-acre property hosts an historic Victorian home. The landscape design included an eight-foot-tall brick wall which required a variance, a retaining wall, new brick paving, a water feature, containers, and landscaping throughout the property. A wide variety of sun and shade loving plants and containers were used to create Victorian-style gardens. A shrub border at the wall provides year-round bloom color.

Unique Gardens

Rosborough Partners Inc.

The relaxed intermingling of plants in a full, lush garden brings a feeling of peace and tranquility. (Photo by RStarovich)
Home Inspiration: Sunny, Spring Lot and Well-Lit Victorian Garden

Remodeled Queen Anne

The Lazy Gardener

A refurbished Queen Anne needed privacy from a busy street corner while not feeling like it was behind a privacy hedge. A mixed use of evergreen trees and shrubs, deciduous plants and perennials give a warm cottage feel while creating the privacy the garden needed from the street.

Cottage Style Front Yard

Mindful Garden Design

Lots of color and texture in the plants here in this casual cottage-y front yard garden. Surrounded by an iron fence which supports a climbing rose, the enclosed space is full of texture-rich foliage to provide year round interest, from the foundation plants to the grasses and the ground covers. Photo by Laura Wright

Raised Bed Potager

Thomas Wheaton Garden Design, LLC

A small, disused planting area in an urban neighborhood was converted into a tidy, productive kitchen garden by the addition of raised cedar beds.
Photo of a small summer vegetable garden on a Victorian backyard lot with midday shade and stone paving

Southampton Residence

Douglas C. Wright Architects

Architect: Douglas Wright www.dcwarchitects.com Photography: David Sundberg, ESTO
Home Inspiration: Sunny, Summer Lot and Victorian Garden with Container Plants, Good Lighting, and Gravel

GARDEN

Remington Construction Services

Garden pavilion Remington construction Services
Home Inspiration: Small Regular Victorian Backyard Garden

Pomello Residence

HartmanBaldwin Design/Build

In keeping with the estate’s traditional English Tudor style 10,000 sq.