English landscape garden

**History and Development of English Landscape Gardens:**
– Predecessors of English landscape gardens were the great parks at Castle Howard, Blenheim Palace, and Claremont Landscape Garden.
– The English landscape garden emerged as a revolt against formal gardens, drawing inspiration from Italian landscapes and Roman ruins.
– William Kent and Charles Bridgeman were key figures in developing the English garden style.
– The English garden style spread across Europe, influencing public parks and gardens in the 19th century.
– Lancelot Capability Brown simplified gardens by removing geometric structures and adding rolling lawns, creating 170 gardens with artificial lakes and transformed streams into rivers.

**Key Figures in English Landscape Gardening:**
– William Kent and Charles Bridgeman were landscape designers for wealthy patrons like Lord Cobham and Lord Burlington.
– Kent introduced Palladian-style architecture to England, while Bridgeman collaborated with Kent on major gardens, providing botanical expertise.
– Charles Bridgeman initially designed formal gardens at Stowe House, later transformed by William Kent into picturesque landscapes with various architectural elements.

**Distinct Styles of English Gardens:**
– The Forest or Savage Garden became a distinct type in English garden design influenced by the Gothic revival and exotic planting like evergreen conifers.
– The Anglo-Chinese Garden contrasted European and Chinese garden styles, with Chinese architecture popularized by William Chambers in Europe.
– The woodland garden style, exemplified by Studley Royal in North Yorkshire, evolved with Capability Brown adding Gothic elements to Stowe Park.

**Spread and Influence of English Garden Style in Europe:**
– The English garden style spread to France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia, with notable examples like Ermenonville and Tsarskoe Selo.
– European English gardens are smaller and located on the edge of cities, incorporating eye-catchers like grottoes, temples, and pavilions.
– The 19th-century evolution of English gardens in Europe included shrubberies, botanical tree plantations, and Romantic elements like ponds, pavilions, and imitation ruins.

**Notable Features and References of English Gardens Abroad:**
– Continental European English gardens include eye-catchers like grottoes, temples, and belvederes, differentiated from formal Baroque designs.
– The late 19th-century English cottage garden style influenced gardens in France and northern Europe, with notable examples like the Englischer Garten in Munich.
– Key references on English landscape gardening include works by Yves-Marie Allain, Janine Christiany, and John Dixon Hunt, providing insights into the history and evolution of English gardens.