Allen Centennial English Garden Project
About
Welcome to the Allen Centennial English Garden site. This site is used to explore the history of English Style gardens found at ACG. These Styles include English Cottage Garden, English Victorian Garden, and the Standard English Garden. Below, you can find brief information on each garden style, but feel free to explore more of the site to learn the inner-workings, key designers, and specific details that make each style unique!
English Cottage Garden
The English Cottage Garden became popular through the workings of Gertrude Jekyll. Key features of a English Cottage Garden include specific attention to color and aesthetic - creating a composition similar to an impressionistic painting. Naturalistic garden beds featured diverse species at varieties of height and color that lasted for the entirety of the spring, summer, and fall seasons.
Victorian Garden
During the era of Queen Victoria's reign, coupled with the industrial revolution and increase of leisure time. Gardens were no longer exclusive to the upper-class. As public parks became popularized, the population began creating green spaces of their own with the primary focus on self-sufficiency and aesthetic. Green-houses and herbaceous beds became key features of the home landscape complemented with mosaic carpet beddings and kitchen gardens.
English Garden
English gardens have changed drastically over time with the styles popular during different time periods. However, English gardens remain influential to garden design and can teach us about how to execute a wide variety of garden styles.