This example of "ribbons" of annuals required the ability to propagate plants in large quantities. Hyde Park, London. — This example of "ribbons" of annuals required the ability to propagate plants in large quantities. Hyde Park, London.

The gardenesque garden celebrates the individual plant. Gardenesque became popular in the 1830's fueled by the introduction of exotic plants into England, by increasing knowledge about propagation, and by the availability of large scale green houses to raise quantities of exotic annuals. Look for an individual plant specimen placed where it will reach its full potential and tender annuals in showy colorful displays.

This style was advanced by John Claudius Loudon's Landscape Gardening and Landscape Architecture of the late Humphrey Repton, Esq. Written in 1840, he explained, “the aim of the gardenesque is to add to the acknowledged charms of the [picturesque], all those which the sciences of gardening and botany, in their present advanced state, are capable of producing…. According to the gardenesque school, … all trees and shrubs planted are arranged… as may best display the natural form and habit of each…”

Gardenesque gardens sometimes show off types of plants within a picturesque setting. That is, with curving paths and naturalistic lakes. Examples include the Singapore Botanic Garden and Keukenhof. Other times, the specimen plants are placed in a formal setting, like the rectangular "order" borders of the Chelsea Physic Garden or Kew.

Check out the posts below for other examples of gardens inspired by the gardenesque style.

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singapore botanic garden

Where the sun never shines

singapore botanic garden

Cienfuegos Botanical Garden, Cienfuegos, Cuba

Garden blossoms under Castro

Cienfuegos Botanical Garden, Cienfuegos, Cuba

The Cienfuegos Botanical Garden was not on our itinerary. One of our fellow travelers found it in her Lonely Planet guide book. A "94-hectare botanic garden, near the Pepito Tey sugar mill, 17km east of Cienfuegos” – seemed too good to pass up. What we found blew us away...

Cienfuegos Botanical Garden, Cienfuegos, Cuba

West of the Lakes Garden, Manitowoc, WI

A space age garden

West of the Lakes Garden, Manitowoc, WI

In 1962 John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth. His passing this month is a good excuse to remember the Space Age and Atomic Era and how this period influenced gardening. The Sunken Garden we see above at West of the Lake Gardens in Manitowoc, Wisconsin provides a great example...

West of the Lakes Garden, Manitowoc, WI

Kew Royal Botanic Garden

A pagoda and a peacock

Kew Royal Botanic Garden

Garden ornaments provide a way to add personality to the landscape, to share a personal passion, and to lend an exotic touch to the garden. In the 1770’s the Kew Royal Botanic Garden added its own exotic garden ornament in the shape of a full sized Chinese-style pagoda. Peacocks greet visitors as...

Kew Royal Botanic Garden

Rhododendron Species Garden

Rhody fever

Rhododendron Species Garden

It is hard not to fall in love with rhododendrons. My dad filled our childhood garden with as many as he could get his hands on. In 1964 Milton Walker captured the feeling well, "To see thousands of [rhododendrons] growing superbly in a natural woodland setting was a sight never to be forgotten.” His passion led him to create the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in...

Rhododendron Species Garden

Tropicals in Wisconsin

Under a blanket of snow, the Brinkman’s Wisconsin yard blends in with the neighborhood. But in summer, their garden explodes into a tropical paradise. Just as Victorian plant hunters used glass houses to cultivate exotics in England, the Brinkman's have built their own glass house to do the same here...

Colonial roses

“Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.” - Alphonse Karr, A Tour Round My Garden, 1856. Thanks to gardeners willing to brave thorny stems, aphids, and diseases like “powdery mildew”, “black spot”, and “rust” Here's a rose garden not to miss...

Invitation to a garden

There is nothing like a good garden gate to welcome us into an outdoor space. Garden gates tell us where to enter the landscape – mark the separation between the outer and inner worlds of the garden - and provide a sort of invitation. Here are a few of my favorite. What's your favorite garden gate?