Home » Featured Articles » Victorian Gardens

Victorian Gardens

Posted in Featured Articles, garden design

Old House Chronicle Style Guide:

Garden Features Reflecting Early Victorian Style

curved paths and beds, with few if any straight lines

lawn interspersed with specimen trees and flower beds, especially close to the house

foundation plantings used only to highlight house features and the entry way

walks that meander through the property, going to other garden areas

functional separation of the property into different “gardens” (much the same idea as the garden rooms now so popular in contemporary garden design)

incorporation of ornamentation, more formal near the house, becoming more rustic toward the edges of the property

use of vines and climbing plants to give the sense of integration of nature into the design of both the house and the surrounding gardens

hedges as fencing, perhaps with wooden fencing underlying it on borders or in areas where fencing is needed for security

Garden Features Reflecting Late Victorian Style

front and back lawns

specimen trees

mixed foundation plantings, especially if your first floor is off the ground

mixed species, with a wide variety of plant types, shapes, and sizes

ornamental fencing, seating and other garden elements

flower beds, heavily planted and mulched for lower maintenance

trellises or garden houses to both display specimen plants (especially vines) and to serve as a destination for garden paths