Explain the Battle of Styles fought over the future of garden design in the last quarter of the 19th century, and the outcome of that Battle.

The Battle of the Styles was one that was fought at the end of the 19^th century, regarding the future of garden design. With numerous characters, style preferences, and inspirations, the battle was ultimately fought between the horticulturalist and the architect, each side with a contrasting idea about what gardens should look like and what their purpose should be.

Two crucial characters in the Battle of Styles were Sir Reginald Blomfield (the architect), and William Robinson (the gardener). Robinson and Blomfield had very contrasting views on what they thought made a magnificent garden. Robinson, being a horticulturalist, felt that the focus of the garden should truly be on the plants, and believed that one must really know and understand the plants used in the garden in order for it to be successful. Because of this, he believed that shape, form, texture, height, fullness and color should all be taken into consideration, as well as blooming time and length. His style was seen as more wild and naturalistic. Robinson disliked the traditional style Victorian garden, and wished to move away from a garden that looked completely manipulated by man.

Blomfield, however, was an architect with a much more structured approach to gardening. Inspired by English and French renaissance styles. He was inspired by clear cut lines and linear images, and focused more on the structure of the garden than the plants in it, contrasting to Robinson’s more wild gardens.

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Because of garden designers like Gertrude Jekyll and Sir Edwin Lutyens, there was no real winner of the Battle of Styles, because a new style emerged from the controversy, the arts and crafts garden, which adopted stylistic methods and characteristics from both the architect and the horticulturalist. Together, Jekyll and Lutyens designed Munstead Wood in 1897, and proved that the arts and crafts garden truly embodied the best of both worlds. 

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Describe the character and uses of the different urban green spaces created in the 19th century and explored on our Field Study, and the ways in which these parks are relevant and beneficial to 21st century urban living.

Green spaces have been designed, cultivated, and used for many different purposes from the 19^th century on, and today we find that a lot of the same methods are still being used. Two contrasting gardens created in the 19^th century include Biddulph Grange, and Chatsworth. These two gardens were created with contrasting views, yet each accomplished to cultivate a particular atmosphere to enhance a certain experience.

            Biddulph Grange, built by James Bateman, was designed to contrast art and nature. The method Bateman used to create a certain style to this garden was one of excess and drama. The garden was built in sections to display a collection of rare and exotic plants from all around the world. Each section was very different, and represented a different traditional gardens from a different place, including Japanese, Egyptian, and English Victorian gardens. This method was used to create a truly unique experience for the visitor, and was also a way to show off Bateman’s rare collection of plants.

            Chatsworth, built around the same time period by Sir Joseph Paxton, had a very differing atmosphere. Although both men constructed their gardens motivated by a love of plants, the outcomes were very different. Chatsworth is a much more subdued garden, although it is no less intricate or sophisticated. Paxton also designed Chatsworth to have different sections each to frame a specific element, including the conservatory, rockery, and the emperor fountain. Paxton developed and cultivated this particular garden over decades, although he is best known for his work on the Crystal Palace.

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            The Green spaces we visited around Copenhagen, although using some of the same design features as gardens of the past, seem to have very different intended uses. The first park we visited, Ørstedsparken, has an enclosed, inward looking style executed using the natural landscape, the downward slopes and trees surrounding the area. It is clear that the use of this park is for quiet walks, contemplation, or gathering to sit and picnic with friends and family. The main focus of the park is the central structure, a small pond, and a few statues and wildflowers growing alongside. 

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            Another park we visited, the Botanical Gardens, has some of the same features, and also allowed for long walks through winding paths to enjoy the flowers, but also has another use. Similar to the gardens of the 19^th century, the green houses in the Botanical Gardens house exotic plants that can be used to scientific studies, or just to draw in visitors. However, the benches around the paths and in the rock structures also allow for a peaceful, contemplative experience, and I have a feeling this garden, as well as most of the others in Copenhagen, were inspired by a love of plants and nature as well.

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             These urban green spaces are crucial to city life because they allow people a much needed escape. The inward focusing, enclosed style of most of the gardens we visited is deliberate, and allows people to truly seek refuge from their daily lives, among the wildflowers, exotic plants, and towering trees. There is something for everyone in these gardens, as long as you are willing to take the time and look.

For the three influential designers and innovators of in the 18th century English Landscape Movement - Charles Bridgeman, William Kent & ‘Capability’ Brown - write a brief paragraph to describe the style - form, layout, content, purpose - of their landscapes.

Charles Bridgeman revolutionized garden landscapes in terms of style, design and content. With Bridgeman’s invention of the ha-ha (a downward slope that meets a vertical wall intended to keep unwanted animals out of the landscape) came a new way to view a landscape completely unobstructed. This new concept of creating gardens to look like landscape paintings, sweeping slopes and clear views, was completely different then past baroque styles where garden elements were much more condensed and man-made. Although Bridgeman’s gardens did contain some baroque features, including parterres, avenues, and geometric lakes, he was most known for his transitional and progressive structures, which included garden buildings and long winding paths. 

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Despite his little knowledge of horticulture, William Kent became Charles Bridgeman’s predecessor, and took many of his new ideas and concepts for landscape design a step further. Kent, considered one of the originators of the English landscape garden, used a style of ‘natural’ gardening, so that although the land he worked with was heavily manipulated, the landscape looked completely natural, as if it was wild nature which created the scenery rather than the careful and meticulous planning that was really involved. Kent viewed all nature as a garden, and adapted the concept of ‘borrowed scenery’, creating focal points and clear views in order to truly take advantage of all the landscape had to offer.

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In 1741, Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown joined the gardening staff at Stowe, Buckinghamshire, and served under William Kent. Capability Brown’s style was considered ‘garden-less’ gardening, blurring the lines of natural and man-made even more-so than William Kent. His landscapes were indistinguishable from wild nature, despite the fact that they were perfectly constructed. Brown used long winding paths so that the viewer was never bored, but constantly seeing new features around the bend. Brown also used borrowed landscapes, and the deliberate placement of clusters of trees to create focal points in the garden structures, as well as creating a certain sense of being truly immersed in nature. With Brown’s designs, the garden at Stowe became a centerpiece for English landscape gardens. 

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