Allen Centennial English Garden Project
Victorian Garden
Beauty and Self-Sufficiency
During the era of Queen Victoria's reign, coupled with the industrial revolution and increase in 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 aesthetics. Green houses and herbaceous beds became key features of the home landscape complemented with mosaic carpet beddings and kitchen gardens.
Key Elements
Glass green houses for exotic plants, fruits, and vegetables
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Carpet bedding creating mosaics of similar height flowers
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Kitchen gardens full for fruit, vegetables, and herbs
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Perennial and herbaceous boarders escalating in height front to back
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Cast iron or rustic wood fencing (featuring craft)
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Attention to symmetry and formal alignment
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Industrial Revolution
The industrial revolution not only increased the amount of leisure time for the working class. Inventions such as Sheet-glass, steel, the lawnmower, and higher-efficiency transportation all heavliy influenced the Victorian Garden style.​
Agricultural
Revolution
The Kitchen Garden
The Kitchen Garden was a reflection of the need for self-sufficiency.
The combination of the popularization of canning, the invention of refrigeration, the creation of efficient agricultural machinery, and the increase of speed in transportation led to the kitchen garden no longer being a necessity. Popular at first, the Kitchen Garden is key element separating early Victorian Gardens from late.