A Short History of the English Garden — Season 1

The Romans were the first to introduce gardens to England, and European influence returned during the age of the Tudors and Stuarts, with an emphasis on geometric patterns and formal features. In the late 17th and 18th centuries, the English picturesque movement took off, inspired by an appreciation of the native landscape and the icons of the ancient world. The work of its chief exponents, including William Kent and Capability Brown, is still in evidence in the gardens of England's great stately homes today, such as Blenheim Palace. In the English landscape garden geometric structures, alleys, and parterres near the house were eliminated and replaced with rolling lawns and extensive views. Artificial lakes, dams and canals transformed streams or springs into the illusion that a river flowed through the garden

The formality of neat structured lines would soon return to Victorian gardens in the 19th century. The Age of Exploration had led to many exotic plants being brought back to England. These were popular in Victorian gardens and this led to a boom in greenhouse construction. Some of the world's biggest greenhouses were constructed at places such as Kew. In the 20th century, gardeners such as Gertrude Jekyll, Vita Sackville-West and Christopher Lloyd provided the inspiration for many English gardens today. Now, in the 21st century the self-sustaining philosophy of the new perennial garden has taken centre stage in many of the country's showpiece gardens.