- Design and Landscaping Basics
- Creating a Japanese Garden
- Creating a Wildlife Garden
- Colour and Garden Design
- Sensory Gardens
- Small Garden Landscaping
- Modern Trends in Garden Design
- Country Garden Landscaping
- Water and Rock Gardens
- Feng Shui in Landscaping
- Decking and Arbors
- History of Landscaping
- Landscape Maintenance
- Landscaping for Privacy
- Choosing your designer
- Capability Brown
- Diarmuid Gavin
- Gertrude Jekyll
- Gardening in the Media
Gertrude Jekyll is a legend among landscapers worldwide, having created an estimated 400 gardens across the UK, Europe and America. The foremost garden designer of her day, she was also a leading horticulturalist and gardening writer, whose books continue to be widely read and remain an invaluable source of information and inspiration to green-fingered amateurs and top landscapers alike. Jekyll's extraordinary legacy reflects the pervasive influence of her timeless designs.
Jekyll was born in Surrey in 1843. Interested in plants as a child, she grew up into something of a Renaissance woman whose many talents included painting, photography and embroidery as well as crafts such as thatching, carving and metalwork. Jekyll studied at the South Kensington School of Art, but failing eyesight later forced her to give up many of her artistic pursuits and focus solely on gardening.
Jekyll was heavily influenced by the principles of the Arts and Crafts movement, counting William Morris among her friends. She thought of gardens as pictures to be created, seeing her plant shapes as brush strokes. Most famous for her bold and colourful (often monochrome) herbaceous borders, Jekyll endeavoured to create picturesque, impressionistic gardens that were little influenced by the passing trends of her day.
Her method of free form planting created magnificent displays, giving an impression of natural beauty that belied the meticulous attention to detail she applied to her work. She took great care to ensure that each plant and each garden was sympathetic with its surroundings, studying habitat, culture, foliage and colour.
Jekyll formed a mutually beneficial partnership with the famous architect Sir Edwin Lutyens following a chance meeting in 1899. She helped design the gardens for many of his important projects, particularly his country homes in England. It was from Lutyen's children that Jekyll received the nickname "Aunt Bumps", due to the bumpy rides she would give them in her pony cart. The character of Jekyll in 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' was named after Gertrude's brother, Walter, who was a friend of the author Robert Louis Stevenson.
Although few of her gardens survive, Jeckyll's work remains accessible in the form of her writing. A prolific gardening writer, she contributed over 1000 articles to magazines including Country Life and The Garden. The best known of her books, including Wood and Garden, Old West Surrey and Colour In The Flower Garden continue to be read in modern editions.
The rose named after Gertrude Jekyll in the 1980s is testament to her lasting impact on the world of gardening.