Landscaping is a fascinating and difficult task. But its results are pleasing for many years, giving pleasure to people. Therefore, it is worth turning a piece of land into beauty and enjoy the results of your labor. But which style to choose? Which is better - regular or landscape park? Let's talk about the specifics of the latter. About how the tradition of creating landscape gardening complexes was born, what are their features and how to create them. And in the photo you can see the best examples of landscape art.
Garden art
The tradition of creating parks appears in ancient Greece. Already in those days, people strove to create an ideal landscape that would give joy to contemplation. The idea of parks goes back to the biblical myth of the Garden of Eden, in which man was absolutely happy. And the thought of creating some semblance of this place for bliss accompanies a person throughout his history. The ancient Greeks created parks so that people could find unity with nature, so the design of the garden took into account the features of the natural landscape. These were not fully landscape parks, but their prototype. In Greece, there were public gardens designed to relax free citizens. Roman landscape gardening culture introduces the tradition of creating house gardens with flowers and plants, for walks of wealthy citizens. Then prototypes of regular gardens appeared, which were created with rich villas. Since that time, gardens and parks have become an indispensable attribute of the life of rich people. And later, the middle class sought to have at least a small front garden at home to touch this lifestyle.
The original landscape style in landscape design came from the East. Back in the first millennium BC, gardens were created in China to admire the natural environment. A huge contribution to the development of this tradition was made by Japan. Here, in the 14-15 centuries, elegant landscapes were created, and the main art of the gardener was to emphasize the natural nature. In Europe, monasteries develop the tradition of setting up gardens, each of which necessarily had its own plot, cultivated and decorated with monks. These gardens were part of the architectural complex and were filled with symbolism. So, in these parks labyrinths were often arranged as a symbol of the soul wandering in search of God. In the Renaissance, baroque secular parks appear. They should be pleasing to the eye, entertain, contribute to relaxation. Such parks belonged to the aristocracy and were a symbol of wealth and luxury. It was the heyday of landscape gardening culture, then two traditions were laid: landscape and regular. In the 18th century, the formation of two styles took place, which became the main ones in landscape design.
Signs of a landscape park
In the 18th century, a new style appeared in England, the main purpose of which was to create a garden and park complex as a semblance of natural nature. Later, this tradition extends to continental Europe, and even later Russian landscape parks appear. How to recognize this style? It has a number of distinctive characteristics:
- Free layout. Nothing should betray the reasonableness of the landscape.
- No symmetry. Nature is inherently asymmetric, therefore, there should not be symmetrical objects in the park either.
- The layout of the park in accordance with the natural landscape. The gardener should emphasize the natural beauty of the place, and not completely create it.
- Mandatory relief contrasts. The landscape landscape, even in flat terrain, should be built on the alternation of smooth and hilly parts.
- No straight lines. Paths, landings should be winding, reminiscent of spontaneous natural terrain.
- Gradual disclosure of perspective. The park should bring surprises to the person who walks along it, he should not see the whole landscape at once.
- The presence of ponds, alpine slides, cascades.
- Use in decor only natural materials. Gravel, stone, shavings, wood cuts, etc.
- The crown of the trees must be natural, no decorative haircuts are allowed.
- The lack of garden sculpture, fountains.
Everything in this park should remind of the natural nature, but at the same time be well-groomed, thought out.
Landscape vs regular
English and French gardening traditions find their supporters and opponents. Which is better? Regular and landscape parks are two different approaches, with different tasks. The French Regular Park is a child of the classic tradition. His motto is human control over nature. The gardener creates a work of art, demonstrating his skill, imagination, and sense of style. He carefully calibrates the symmetrical composition, cuts plants, fills the park with other artifacts: fountains, sculpture. The landscape in such a garden continues the line of architecture. In the English landscape tradition, everything is exactly the opposite. The gardener imitates nature, hides his interference with the landscape. Even the sculpture should look like it was defeated by nature - covered with moss, half hidden by grass, shrubs. Experts recommend choosing a style, guided not only by personal tastes, but also by the features of the site. A flat, large area will allow you to create a regular, symmetrical park, and initially a hilly, asymmetric section near the forest is ideal for breaking down a landscape park. You also need to pay attention to the architecture of the building, to which the park adjoins, so that there is no dissonance between them.
English traditions
Gardening is one of the most important cultural traditions of Great Britain. And the English landscape park is the pinnacle of this tradition. The landscape of the country is ideally suited to create such garden and park complexes: hilly terrain, many small ponds, dull vegetation. Humphrey Repton, an outstanding landscape architect, formulated the basic principles of the landscape park in the late 18th and early 19th centuries:
- Free layout. The park should “unfold” in front of the person, giving surprises at every turn.
- The architect should create the illusion of the naturalness of the park, it should feel like these plants have been living here for a long time, and the house was simply built into them. The park should be central to architecture.
- The park is a holistic work, and the author’s task is to create a thoroughly thought out whole image of the place.
- The landscape garden is not flat; the architect must complicate the relief if this is not in the site.
Style creators
England's landscape parks were the result of the work of several people. The main founder is considered to be William Kent, a famous gardener and architect, an adherent of English classicism. His associate was the gardener C. Bridgman. They first decided to move away from the strict geometric forms adopted in the French tradition. They drew inspiration from the landscape painters of that time, Poussin and Lorren. Kent's main creation, the Stow Park, was transformed from a typical regular into an innovative landscape complex. He harmoniously continued the surrounding forest landscape. Kent's goal was to find harmony and balance between nature and human creation. Kent's ideas were continued and developed by Lancelot Brown and Humphrey Repton. They began to create more chamber parks and brought to the absolute idea of the illusion of naturalness.
Outstanding designs
The traditional English landscape park is designed for sensory perception, it is created on the nuances of color, shape, texture, light. The architect and gardener must provide that the park should impress at different times of the day and year. It must continuously change and maintain a cohesive image. The most famous examples of parks of this type are:
- A classic example of style is the Stow Park. The area of the complex is about 100 hectares, and together with the adjacent landscapes into which it is harmoniously inscribed - 500 hectares. In this space, the architect was able to use a variety of expressive means. There is an alternation of open and closed spaces, many romantic corners with architectural structures, the design of ponds.
- Bodnant Garden in Wales, created by the family of Lord Aberconway. This is a real British attraction, which tourists from all over the world come to see.
- Gardens in the palaces of Kensington, Carltonhouse.
- Park at Wilton House.
European traditions
A great admirer of landscape parks on the continent was the philosopher and writer J.-J. Russo. He remade his garden in Ermenonville and designed it in the English style. The new garden concept finds a lot of fans in Europe. Louis the Sixteenth introduces fashion to landscape parks, and since that time the style has spread to France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Residents of the continent could not refuse to include architecture in the composition of the park and find various solutions for the introduction of arbors, arches, pavilions in the natural landscape. The ideologists and theorists of landscape style in Europe were P. Lenne and G. Puckler. Their works today are the sights of Germany.
Famous Examples
The most famous landscape parks in Europe are located in France (Ermenonville) and in Germany - gardens near Dessau and Bad Muskau, Wertritz Park, and the park kingdom of Dessau-Werlitz is even included in the list of objects protected by UNESCO. The Sanssouci Ensemble Park near Potsdam was created by Pückler and has become a model for many other parks. There are wonderful examples of landscape parks in Poland, the Czech Republic, Munich, and Bulgaria.
Russian experience
The Russian aristocracy could not pass by the landscape gardening fashion of Europe, and in the 18th century the first landscape parks appeared in Russia. Most of them were copies of European landscapes, but gradually Russian gardeners began to create unique complexes that perfectly emphasize the beauty of Russian nature.
Outstanding parks
In Russia, the tradition of parks in the English style has taken root well. In the 18-19 centuries, brilliant examples of this art were created. At first, Russian gardeners followed the path of copying, but later a unique poetics of landscape parks in Russia was formed. The beauty of Russian nature was played out in them, and traditional local plants were used. Great examples are:
- Park in the estate of Tsaritsyno. It was created by order of Empress Catherine the Second. Siberian larch and cedar were used here. The main layout of the park was carried out by English architects.
- Pavlovsky and Catherine parks in the suburbs of St. Petersburg. These are real masterpieces of Russian landscape gardening art.
- The unique rocky landscape park Monrepos in Vyborg. This is a rare case when such a large-scale project did without investment from the imperial family.
