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Formal English Gardens

The source of inspiration for the design and layout of formal English gardens dates back to the beginnings of civilization. To appreciate the subtleties of the formal English garden and its evolution, we need to step back in time.

Ancient Egyptian Garden Design

Let's take a look at the style of dwellings and early gardens in ancient Egypt, circa 4000 to 500 BC. As with every other aspect of their existence, the ancient Egyptians used mathematics to bring order and symmetry into their everyday lives.

Complicated irrigation systems, designed with amazing geometric precision, were literally the lifeline of Egypt's early inhabitants. Their homes and gardens were, therefore, arranged in formal straight lines to fit in and around their vital irrigation channels. The first Egyptian gardens were planted in strictly defined lines to make the most of their meager water supplies.

Classical Formal Gardens

Early Greco-Roman settlements and landscapes followed a similar formal pattern and layout, as a matter of necessity. But the Greeks refined the notion of formality by introducing gardens designed to complement the architecture of the buildings to which they were attached. Symmetrically designed courtyards with fountains, pools and pergolas in geometric shapes, and straight-lined terraces for growing vines, olives, fruit trees, vegetables, herbs and even roses were the order of the day. And, arguably, way back in ancient times, the seeds of the first English gardens were sown.

Evolution of the Formal Garden

By the early Renaissance period, the formal garden had adopted a far less utilitarian role in Europe. Garden design was now viewed as a form of artistic expression, particularly in Italy and France where landscape gardeners began to experiment with concentric architectural patterns, as well as straight lines and right angles to define areas within a formal garden.

Formal gardens throughout Europe were turning their attention to planting for purely aesthetic purposes. The increasing use of water for dramatic effect was also hugely popular at the time.

English formal gardens, as we know them today, evolved from the more intricate Italian and French style gardens of the Renaissance era.

However, we have the English, a nation of garden-lovers, to thank for the reintroduction of the flower garden. They also introduced the concept of private, formal gardens with lawns for domestic use and pleasure.

Sissinghurst: The Epitome of English Gardens

For a flavor of formal English gardens at their best, visit Sissinghurst Castle Garden in Kent, England. The garden at Sissinghurst Castle was the brain-child of Vita Sackville-West (1892 to 1962), famous writer and one time gardening correspondent for The Observer newspaper.

Sissinghurst Castle Garden was created as a sequence of separate garden 'rooms' divided by 'walls' made of hedges and straight garden paths. Sackville-West modeled the garden rooms of Sissinghurst on those of Knole, the stately home where she was brought up.

Formal English Garden Design Features
garden 'rooms'	English garden design is often based on a series of interlocking, angular-shaped rooms: square, triangular or rectangular, and at right angles to each other, within the overall garden layout.
garden paths	Straight, symmetrical gravel paths, run between formal flower beds, connected garden rooms and internal perimeter hedgerows.
lawns	A distinguishing feature of formal English gardens, sweeping lawns are usually positioned in full view of the house.
water features	Water features with straight-edged surrounds such as rectangular-shaped ponds, circular settings for fountains, birdbaths, rills and spouts are incorporated into the overall architectural design of the building and garden, often parallel to the main axis of the house.
boundary walls	Constructed in local stone or brick, formal English garden walls are designed with privacy in mind.
garden arbor	A garden shelter or garden arbor (from the Latin word arbor meaning tree), is constructed entirely from topiary or trimmed from other vegetation.
herbaceous borders	Clipped, trimmed, pruned and oh-so-orderly, English garden herbaceous borders generally have pincer sharp and nature-defying outlines.
topiary	Topiaries are live shrubs or trees clipped to resemble animals or other recognizable shapes. Topiary in formal English gardens is characterized by its clearly defined lines and symmetrical shapes.

Boxwood

Where would any English garden be without its swaths of neatly trimmed box hedges and hedgerows? Dwarf, English boxwood shrubs are synonymous with formal English garden landscapes, at their finest, and are commonly used for both hedges and topiary.

Modern Formality and the English Garden

Want to capture the essence of yesteryear and hint at a lifestyle enjoyed by the upper echelons of English society? Update your backyard or garden with a few distinctly formal features. Add a touch of refinement with:

a wooden arbor or, preferably, a topiary garden arbor
a garden 'room' or secret garden within a garden, partitioned with a miniature box hedge
an angular pond, pedestal fountain or birdbath
a straight-lined, gravel path
a neatly trimmed lawn that you can see from your living room window or French doors.

Learn more about English Gardens, explore the topics of Cottage Gardens and Knot Gardens.