garden

Standing at the head of the Fal estuary, Trelissick is one of the largest gardens in Cornwall. It was first created in the early 19th century and has grown to include a wide range of exotic plants that thrive in the mild Cornish climate. The garden is especially famous for its large collection of azaleas and rhododendrons.

Glendurgan Valley Garden, in Cornwall, was created in the 1820s and 1830s by Alfred Fox. His successful Falmouth-based shipping company brought him exotic specimens from all over the world, many of which are still growing. The low-growing laurel maze, planted in 1833, has recently been restored.

Stourhead, in Wiltshire, laid out between 1741 and 1765, was one of the first English gardens to favour the natural, landscaped forms that came to epitomize the 18th century English style. Its architect, Henry Flitcroft (1697-1769), surrounded an artificial lake with a series of neoclassical temples in picturesque settings, alluding to the buildings of ancient Rome.

Plot of land, usually belonging to a householder. It can be cultivated to produce food or to create pleasant surroundings.

Pleasure gardens were common in all ancient civilizations. In medieval Europe gardens were devoted to growing medicinal plants and herbs but in the 16th century formal recreational gardens became a feature of larger town and country houses. The taste for formality continued into the 19th century, when a more natural look became fashionable. Most 18th-century rural workers had vegetable gardens and the practice was continued wherever possible in the new industrial towns. The miniature landscaped garden with lawns and flowerbeds became a feature of 20th-century housing estates in Europe and the USA.