Like most of us when we travel, garden visits are part of the itinerary. This October for me was no exception and, on a visit to Europe, I had the chance to see two quite contrasting gardens which, as always, brought me back to thinking about my own small plot here.
Wrest House in the UK is set in the Bedfordshire countryside and is an expansive estate, over 92 acres to explore and worth a day out. See www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/prperties/wrest-park/. The gardens and park beyond constitute one of the most complete remaining formal 18th century landscapes in the UK, with additions that mark every major development in English garden design until the mid-19th century. The grounds also contain a number of important buildings including Thomas Archer's magnificent Baroque pavilion in a stunning setting at the end of the Long Water. All of these outbuildings are quite different, from a Grotto to the Orangery and are open to explore. There is also an impressive collection of garden statuary throughout the grounds. Many leading garden designers and architects worked here including Lancelot 'Capability' Brown who was hired in the 1750's to soften the edges of the Garden and remodel the Park. Standing on the front terrace of the house and looking across the French Parterre Garden to the Pavilion at the end of the Long Water, one can really appreciate his achievement. The gardens blend seamlessly into parkland and the surrounding countryside beyond, without any visible boundary or border, bringing the entrie landscape into the garden.
By way of contrast, Giardino Giusti in Verona, is a strictly contained time capsule. This is a wonderful example of a classic Italian Renaissance garden created in 1570 by a knight of the Venetian Republic, Agostino Giusti. Overlooking the city of Verona and the Adige River that surrounds it, the gardens were designed as a backdrop for the Giusti Palace. This is a formal walled city garden terraced up the hill with walkways which only gradually uncover the view of the city. The famed Cypress Avenue climbs up to a towering 'Mascherone' built to impress and emit tongues of flame from its mouth. The Belvedere above offers one of the finest city views. Below, in the formal gardens, the towering Goethe Cypress trees and immaculate and intricate boxwood hedge formations are articulated by statuary and fountains - all designed to keep the eyes and attention strictly focused within the garden walls.
Thinking about the differences between these two classic gardens underlined, for me, the importance of perimeters and borders. Whether it's a matter of acres or square feet, how we decide to articulate those edges has a huge impact on the feeling within. Like Wrest Park, we can blend and borrow from the existing landscape (often the next door neighbour's garden) and visually expand our space beyond our own fence or hedge with perhaps duplicate or sympathetic planting. Alternatively, like Giardino Giusti, we can decide to focus inward into the garden and emphasize the difference with walls, fences or contrasting shrubs and hedges to create a more formal effect.
I have noticed that as the city had densified and expanded around my own little garden in town, the hedges at the edges have become increasingly thicker and higher. Perhaps it's an unconcious reaction to this densification. Maybe it's now time to open up a bit, to go the Wrest Park route and look to my neighbours.
Author: Lorraine Lewis, MG, Vancouver Chapter
