0:00:03 > 0:00:07For many of us, Britain's great historic gardens are museums
0:00:07 > 0:00:11that have little in common with modern garden design.
0:00:11 > 0:00:16But the truth is that these gardens can have huge contemporary relevance.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23In this series, I'm exploring four of my favourite gardens,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26to show just how much we can learn from them.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32These are the gardens that have inspired me,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35and which affect the way I garden at home.
0:00:35 > 0:00:40They're a perfect example of the evolution of garden design,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43but in many ways every bit as relevant today
0:00:43 > 0:00:47as they were in the centuries when they were first made.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51And few are as influential as the great gardens
0:00:51 > 0:00:54of the 18th-century Landscape Movement.
0:00:54 > 0:01:00For me, one garden epitomises the epic designs of this age.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04So you see your building from a great distance and then you
0:01:04 > 0:01:07go off down a serpentine path and you don't see it again
0:01:07 > 0:01:10until it's right in front of you, like that.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14'I reveal how it continues to influence modern design...'
0:01:14 > 0:01:17What's great is you get a mount created nearly 300 years ago,
0:01:17 > 0:01:23and it feels so modern that it fits with something like this that was created last year.
0:01:23 > 0:01:29'..And demonstrate how your garden can benefit from the wisdom of the 18th century.'
0:01:29 > 0:01:33A bit of judicious weaving and it'll soon all settle in.
0:01:33 > 0:01:40So join me as I reveal the secrets of Stowe, my favourite landscape garden.
0:02:06 > 0:02:12These days, we think of our gardens as a blank canvas that we can redesign at will,
0:02:12 > 0:02:14but we wouldn't even think that way
0:02:14 > 0:02:18if it were not for a group of mavericks in the 18th century
0:02:18 > 0:02:22who changed the way we view our gardens forever.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37To the untrained eye, this landscape, at Stowe in Buckinghamshire,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39looks like the work of Mother Nature.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44But it's not. It's actually revolutionary gardening in practice.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48Those pioneers quite literally uprooted villages,
0:02:48 > 0:02:52created lakes and planted swathes of trees to bring
0:02:52 > 0:02:56their idea of natural beauty right up to the back door.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05In the early 18th century, Stowe was an extensive estate
0:03:05 > 0:03:08that belonged to one of the country's wealthiest politicians -
0:03:08 > 0:03:10Viscount Cobham.
0:03:10 > 0:03:17Cobham wanted to turn the gardens into a showpiece of wealth and power,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21so, in 1715, he turned to a brilliant exponent of the art,
0:03:21 > 0:03:26Charles Bridgeman, to redesign the estate.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30Bridgeman was an early figure in the Landscape Movement -
0:03:30 > 0:03:32a new philosophy in gardening.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37It was inspired by a cultural shift in Britain in the early 1700s.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39At the time,
0:03:39 > 0:03:44there was a backlash against the political and artistic ideas that
0:03:44 > 0:03:48had flooded into the country from mainland Europe in the 17th century.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50In the 18th century garden,
0:03:50 > 0:03:55rigid French formal design was banished and replaced by
0:03:55 > 0:04:00an idealised version of nature, inspired by literature and art.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Stowe was one of the first gardens
0:04:05 > 0:04:09to adopt these new ideas and became a master class in landscape design.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13Here, you can see how the garden was opened out,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17creating views of the surrounding landscape.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22Lawns were resculpted, serpentine paths were laid.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Classical buildings dressed the landscape.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Rustic grottoes were all the rage.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32And trees were planted en masse,
0:04:32 > 0:04:37all to create a garden more beautiful than nature could manage alone.
0:04:41 > 0:04:48At Stowe, you're surrounded by exhilarating uninterrupted views, and it was Bridgeman's early work
0:04:48 > 0:04:50here at the start of the 18th century
0:04:50 > 0:04:53that allowed those views to become part of the garden.
0:04:53 > 0:04:59The 400 acres closest to the house are known as the Pleasure Gardens,
0:04:59 > 0:05:02but appear to flow into the surrounding parkland.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06Bridgeman achieved this by using a method that would become
0:05:06 > 0:05:09one of the defining features of the landscape garden.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22Before Bridgeman, Stowe had been a classic baroque garden
0:05:22 > 0:05:25like this one at Hatfield, where the focus of the design
0:05:25 > 0:05:28was its rigid parterres and straight, tree-lined avenues.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32But Bridgeman wanted to free the garden from these constraints
0:05:32 > 0:05:34and connect it with the wider landscape.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38So he began to sweep away the existing elements.
0:05:38 > 0:05:44The next stage was to remove the formal barriers that surrounded the house -
0:05:44 > 0:05:47the hedges and walls that restricted the view.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51He replaced them with this, a large ditch,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53which not only kept the animals out,
0:05:53 > 0:05:58but brought the landscape in, quite literally borrowing the view.
0:06:00 > 0:06:06The ditch at Stowe runs for three miles, and became known as the Ha-Ha.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Visitors strolling through the pleasure gardens
0:06:09 > 0:06:12would reach the ditch and exclaim, "ha-ha"!
0:06:12 > 0:06:13It's like a sunken fence.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15A clever piece of practical design
0:06:15 > 0:06:19allowing uninterrupted views of the whole landscape.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Not only did it bring nature up close and personal, but it also
0:06:22 > 0:06:27allowed you to demonstrate the extent of your power and influence.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31And if you were into showing off, as Cobham might have been - after all,
0:06:31 > 0:06:37he was richer than the king - then why not focus your visitors' eyes...
0:06:37 > 0:06:39on something like this?
0:06:42 > 0:06:43Or this.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Or this.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49Thanks to gardens like Stowe, borrowing a view or
0:06:49 > 0:06:54creating a focal point has become an essential element of garden design.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03Today's designers regularly use this technique to enhance their gardens.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Alan Gray, at East Ruston on the north Norfolk coast,
0:07:09 > 0:07:14found a borrowed view could have practical as well as aesthetic benefits.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Our coastal site here is flat.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24It's a very open and prairie-like landscape around us.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27I always say if there's a breeze inland there's a gale on the coast.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31And so the first thing we had to do is have a windbreak around the garden.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38And it gives us the opportunity to have tall hedges.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Perhaps slightly taller than most people would.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46Because the idea is to keep the wind above our heads,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48up there in the ether, if you like,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51and to stop it coming down into the garden and doing damage.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58That's why the garden has a system of rooms.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01So the garden itself had to be inward-looking.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08That's why we borrowed views from the landscape.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11The churches,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14and the lighthouse.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16Well, we really wanted to keep this view.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19And what we did is we cut away the lower branches of the Monterey pines
0:08:19 > 0:08:23and made a dip in the hedge that's the other side of the pines,
0:08:23 > 0:08:25and suddenly that started to take on the form of a circle.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29And we thought, hey, this could be fun. And humour's so important in a garden.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34So we cut the side branches off the trees as they grew and then let them
0:08:34 > 0:08:38grow over the top of the opening, and, hey presto, we had a porthole.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41A nautical influence for the lighthouse at Happisburgh on Sea.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Having tied them and leave them there for a year, they will stay there.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54So you can then just cut around the inside of your window
0:08:54 > 0:08:57once or twice a year, just to keep the view clear.
0:08:58 > 0:09:05By framing a vista through a window in a hedge or a wall, it actually fools the eye.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10It changes the perspective so that it appears to be nearer to you than perhaps it really is.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12And it makes it much more important.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26You know, borrowed views are just as important in the garden as they are on the outside,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30because they allow you a glimpse from one part of the garden into another.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33A gap in the hedge gives you an element of surprise.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40You can cut a window in almost any kind of hedge.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44The reason I chose beech, I love it for its bright spring greenness.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48I love it for the fact that it has warm, russet tones throughout the winter
0:09:48 > 0:09:51which look wonderful when they're lit by the low winter sun.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54But most of all, I love it because it's easy maintenance.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56It needs cutting but once a year.
0:10:01 > 0:10:07When you've created your window in a hedge or a wall, the eye then needs something to focus on.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10And that could be anything. It could be a monument, a statue.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17Here we have an 18th century copy of a statue of a gardener.
0:10:17 > 0:10:22He cost me the huge sum of £30. He's made of cement,
0:10:22 > 0:10:27but I've painted him with a solution that makes him look as if he's made of terracotta.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Two years later, when he's grown lichens and algaes on him
0:10:32 > 0:10:35and he's got a spider's nest under his chin,
0:10:35 > 0:10:39he could have been there for 300 years.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44Borrowing the view is about drawing the eye to something you want it to see.
0:10:44 > 0:10:49But it can also help you draw attention away from something you don't.
0:11:05 > 0:11:12This talk of borrowed views is all very well if you've got a distant view of Salisbury Cathedral spire.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15But what if the end your garden looks like this?
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Compost bin. For goodness' sake, put that lid on straight.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Bags of leaf mould, logs.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23I mean, there's no view you can borrow here, is there?
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Ah, but you can cheat a bit.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30A couple of posts is all you need.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33And a few battens.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38'Rather than waiting for a hedge to grow,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40'a trellis screen gives instant results.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43'This one measures ten feet across.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47'It's just like putting up a fence panel.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51'When you know the height of your focal point, frame it,
0:11:51 > 0:11:55'using battens, front and back, for stability.'
0:12:10 > 0:12:14The thing is, you can still see all this rubbish through it, can't you?
0:12:14 > 0:12:17What it needs is some plants.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22I've chosen four hardy climbers for year-round interest.
0:12:24 > 0:12:30Garrya elliptica has long silky tassels that appear in November through to January.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34This honeysuckle, Mint Crisp, is semi-evergreen and bears white,
0:12:34 > 0:12:38fragrant flowers in summer through to autumn.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43Variegated Canary Island ivy and Sulphur Heart are fast growing
0:12:43 > 0:12:46and will brighten up even the darkest of corners.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58A bit of judicious weaving and it'll soon all settle in.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24Whether it's creating a view where there isn't one,
0:13:24 > 0:13:28or taking advantage of one that already exists,
0:13:28 > 0:13:32the Landscape Movement taught us that nature was there to be embraced.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38Of course, if you were cynical,
0:13:38 > 0:13:43you could say, well, if they were into all this naturalness
0:13:43 > 0:13:46in the 18th century, then presumably they could just have got the back of
0:13:46 > 0:13:54a parchment envelope and a blunt quill and done a few twirly-whirly designs and called it a landscape.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56Don't you believe it.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00There's artistry in this apparent artlessness.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04And also a fair touch of trigonometry.
0:14:06 > 0:14:13You can see this technical skill at work in Stowe's extensive landscaped lawns.
0:14:21 > 0:14:27In the pleasure gardens are hundreds of acres of undulating grassland.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31These may look like natural contours within the landscape,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34but they've actually been carefully mapped out and sculpted.
0:14:34 > 0:14:41To build them, vast areas of earth were shifted, and anything that got in the way was removed.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46This area was once a small village with a pond and a vicarage.
0:14:46 > 0:14:51They demolished it, creating this lake and landscaping the spoils into grassy banks.
0:14:57 > 0:15:05These enormous sweeping lawns at Stowe were actually created in the latter part of the 18th century.
0:15:05 > 0:15:12But we can see the origins of 18th century lawn sculpture in these giant angular features
0:15:12 > 0:15:17at Boughton House in the heart of Northamptonshire.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20The gardens here at Boughton crystallise one of the most
0:15:20 > 0:15:24exciting transition moments in the whole of garden history.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28Right at the beginning of the 18th century and the Age of Enlightenment,
0:15:28 > 0:15:33based on politics, on poetry and on science.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37So you can really see here what they were trying to do
0:15:37 > 0:15:40with this landscape of reflecting planes of water,
0:15:40 > 0:15:45strong lines of trees, and then these amazing sculptural earth forms.
0:15:45 > 0:15:51This garden is believed to have been designed by Stowe's head gardener, Charles Bridgeman.
0:15:51 > 0:15:56It shows how the Landscape Movement was evolving from the formal designs
0:15:56 > 0:16:00of the previous century into a more naturalistic style.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04It took vast teams of men with shovels and wheelbarrows
0:16:04 > 0:16:08and donkeys moving vast quantities of soil and mud
0:16:08 > 0:16:12and creating perfectly symmetrical sculptures out of land.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17Last year, landscape architect Kim Wilkie was commissioned to create
0:16:17 > 0:16:21the first new feature at Boughton since the 18th century.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28So you had this great mount, seven metres high, and
0:16:28 > 0:16:32then we just flipped it, inverted it and went down seven metres there.
0:16:32 > 0:16:33You can't see the bottom of it from here.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37And, actually, within the whole landscape, I hope it's quite discreet,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41but when we go down you'll see quite how deep and powerful it is.
0:16:50 > 0:16:56We worked out the mathematics and the proportions and the gradients very carefully on the computer.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01And then were able to put that into the laser survey equipment,
0:17:01 > 0:17:05so that the digger was guided very precisely, to the millimetre,
0:17:05 > 0:17:09as to how to create all of the gradients and the slopes.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13Whereas the mount would have been set out by eye,
0:17:13 > 0:17:17by theodolites and by plumb lines in the 18th century.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20What's great about that brief couple of decades
0:17:20 > 0:17:23at the beginning of the 18th century is you get a mount like
0:17:23 > 0:17:28that, that was created nearly 300 years ago, and it feels so modern
0:17:28 > 0:17:31that it fits with something like this that was created last year.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39This water is pure spring water,
0:17:39 > 0:17:44that's risen from a source, a spring up by the lily pond,
0:17:44 > 0:17:49come down through the curving channel from the cube there, and
0:17:49 > 0:17:54then down into this pool, and then returns to the river afterwards.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06There's a real tip for laying turf on such steep slopes,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09and that is to roll it out like stair carpet,
0:18:09 > 0:18:14so that you roll it from the top down, and then pin it with fine bamboo canes
0:18:14 > 0:18:18until it's rooted into the soil underneath.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29It's a very tricky job to maintain and mow this landscape.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33It takes probably up to two days in the height of season.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40I should imagine in the 18th century that they would have used scythes to mow the grass here.
0:18:40 > 0:18:45I can't imagine they would achieve such a fine finish as what we do here today at Boughton.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50We use hover mowers
0:18:50 > 0:18:53and also a state-of-the-art remote controlled banks mower.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00So it's just a case of a motivated team and the correct equipment
0:19:00 > 0:19:03in order to achieve the fine finish that we have here.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07Every day of the week is spent mowing somewhere on the estate.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13But once it's complete, I think it just looks spectacular.
0:19:15 > 0:19:20One of the best things about being in northern Europe
0:19:20 > 0:19:22is that you get low light,
0:19:22 > 0:19:28so that the slightest shadow in the evening or in frost makes something
0:19:28 > 0:19:31look dramatically sculptural.
0:19:31 > 0:19:38Working with soil and mud, and then sculpting it into a fine shape and
0:19:38 > 0:19:43clothing it with grass, is a really sensuous way of sculpting the land.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47A lawn sculpture, of whatever size,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50can be a dramatic addition to any garden.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53But you don't need a landscape like Stowe or Boughton to create one.
0:19:59 > 0:20:04You can do a bit of ground sculpture using turf.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07Now, before you say, "And how much is that going to cost?",
0:20:07 > 0:20:11if you go to a turf supplier or a garden centre where the turf's
0:20:11 > 0:20:18gone off, they'll more than likely give it to you, and you can make a seat, just like this.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22My lawn sculpture is based on a circle,
0:20:22 > 0:20:26but it's going to spiral upwards to make the seat.
0:20:35 > 0:20:43Now that I've got my first two or three layers down, the base, I need now to start my spiral.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50Coming in from the edge.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59Turf provides a relatively solid structure
0:20:59 > 0:21:03and is easy to sculpt into whatever shape you want.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07As you build up the layers, make sure you compact them as you go.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16Well, the sun's going down, I've been here a while.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21What I've had to do as I've gone along is really keep it moist with a can and a hose
0:21:21 > 0:21:24so that it stayed damp, and I've been able to pound it down with my feet,
0:21:24 > 0:21:28and I've been filling in the gaps that I've got with compost.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30And, again, just making sure that all goes in.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34So I've made a sort of spiral cake, if you like.
0:21:34 > 0:21:43A lovely little place for grandchildren to walk all the way round up to the top of there.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48Or what will be, for grown-ups, somewhere very nice to sit.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52Which has now got to be covered, not with this old turf
0:21:52 > 0:21:55out of which I've built it, but with new stuff.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59You'd think I'd get a man in, wouldn't you?
0:21:59 > 0:22:03Turf costs from around £1.50 a square metre.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07But you can prepare the surface and sow grass seed instead.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14Now, you can use ordinary turf if you want.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17But this is one which is quite slow growing,
0:22:17 > 0:22:21and that means you don't have to cut it quite so much.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25What you do need is a bread knife.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Just to help you make some little pleats.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40Just to make sure it stays where you put it, these wire pins -
0:22:40 > 0:22:45a lump of wire bent into a hairgrip. Push them right in.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48So that you can't see them.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56If you start at the top and then work your way down,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59you don't have to walk on what you've done.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05You can see now that this is where
0:23:05 > 0:23:10you start having to be a bit cunning or you're going to have gaps to fill.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15It's really handy if your turf is nice and wet.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18It's heavier to lift but it moulds in there better.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22And then again pins there will stop it from curling up.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27I know what you're thinking.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30It's going to be the devil to mow.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33You don't get your cylinder out, or your rotary.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37You do it with a pair of shears on a pleasant afternoon.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39Yes, it takes you a while, but then you don't get a nice
0:23:39 > 0:23:44mound to sit on without having a little snip every now and again.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49And, provided you make sure there are no air pockets,
0:23:49 > 0:23:50this will very quickly knit in.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53You water it well, particularly in dry weather,
0:23:53 > 0:23:57immediately after you've made it, and very shortly
0:23:57 > 0:23:59it will start to turn
0:23:59 > 0:24:04into a green spiral that you can sit on.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06And boy, will you need it.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13Within a month, the grass has become a lush green velvet carpet.
0:24:21 > 0:24:29Thanks to Cobham, Stowe was evolving from a 17th century baroque garden into a grand landscaped park.
0:24:29 > 0:24:36Soon the garden began to attract influential guests, including nobility and political leaders.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39It became so popular it ended up in print.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Stowe wasn't just pioneering in terms of landscape.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50It also produced the first garden guide.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53This is one of my most treasured books.
0:24:53 > 0:24:58Published in 1769. The first one came out 20 years earlier.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02It includes a lovely folding map of the gardens,
0:25:02 > 0:25:06and it's packed with engravings and descriptions of the temples.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10Where Stowe led, others followed,
0:25:10 > 0:25:16and our yellow book now has 4,000 gardens in it that you can visit.
0:25:16 > 0:25:23The guide enabled Cobham's esteemed guests to navigate their way round the extensive estate.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27But they were helped by another revolutionary technique
0:25:27 > 0:25:32that was introduced by Bridgeman's successor, William Kent.
0:25:32 > 0:25:39Kent created a device that would draw their eye to Stowe's epic views as they strolled the grounds.
0:25:45 > 0:25:53I think one of the most important things that the landscape movement gave us is also one of the simplest.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55The meandering path.
0:26:03 > 0:26:10Without it, we would never have had the surprise of an unexpected view around a corner.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17'These curvy paths changed the look of early landscape gardens.
0:26:17 > 0:26:22'Historian Richard Wheeler explains how they came about.'
0:26:22 > 0:26:27So, Richard, are we saying then that when the landscape movement came in,
0:26:27 > 0:26:31they rearranged all these straight lines and avenues and vistas
0:26:31 > 0:26:34into just meandering paths, quite randomly?
0:26:34 > 0:26:36I think the answer to that is perish the thought!
0:26:36 > 0:26:41No, it was not random at all, it was very, very highly considered.
0:26:41 > 0:26:46So all the avenues around the edge of the garden all remained,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49with their views out into the landscape.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53But in addition to those, they then had their serpentines
0:26:53 > 0:26:55going alongside them.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59So that's what all these wiggly lines are over the formal ones?
0:26:59 > 0:27:05They overlaid their informality on the existing formality, just to diffuse it, really.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08I think that happened a huge amount at Stowe.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12So you see your building from a great distance, and then you
0:27:12 > 0:27:17go off down a serpentine path and you don't see it again until it's right in front of you, like that.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22They actually made walking in the landscape, then, much more interesting.
0:27:22 > 0:27:23Absolutely. Entirely. Entirely.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27There isn't anything more boring than walking along a straight road.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32William Kent had trained as an artist in Italy,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35and his garden designs would be heavily influenced
0:27:35 > 0:27:38by the classical buildings and the landscape he saw there.
0:27:40 > 0:27:47At Stowe, he built ten architectural follies and placed them along the path at opportune points.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54These are the Elysian fields, designed by William Kent,
0:27:54 > 0:27:59where heroes chosen for immortality by the gods would reside.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03And this is the Temple of Ancient Virtue.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05I'd fit in quite well here.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08These were lofty intellectual statements.
0:28:08 > 0:28:15Today you could call it intellectual snobbery, where your knowledge of the classics and your ability to discuss
0:28:15 > 0:28:20the important theories of the day put you and your garden into a different league.
0:28:20 > 0:28:26Designers like Kent began to dress the landscape with heavy symbolism.
0:28:26 > 0:28:31Classical temples, ruins, and statues.
0:28:31 > 0:28:37Kent used the meandering path to take you on a journey of discovery to each one of them.
0:28:40 > 0:28:46Alongside the path, he planted shrubberies and trees to enhance the experience.
0:28:46 > 0:28:54Coaxing you through dappled shade, where the sunlight glints on the glossy leaves of laurel,
0:28:54 > 0:29:01carefully clipped to eye level, so that it offers you tantalising glimpses of journey's end.
0:29:03 > 0:29:08'But Kent's buildings weren't just placed for aesthetic reasons.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14'With politicians, aristocracy and artists in the grounds,
0:29:14 > 0:29:19'they were a refuge for discussing wars and rebellions.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23'As well as a place for social gatherings.'
0:29:23 > 0:29:25Did they have fun here as well?
0:29:25 > 0:29:28Absolutely. I mean, here at the Temple of Friendship,
0:29:28 > 0:29:31this was where Cobham's political cronies met.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34And we know that there was a wine cellar and probably a kitchen too.
0:29:34 > 0:29:39So they were in here drinking and eating and probably wenching too.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42Oh, so the weren't averse to a bit of hanky-panky.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44Absolutely not.
0:29:44 > 0:29:49Not even... even the vicar of Stowe, who famously chased a maiden
0:29:49 > 0:29:53to a secluded garden building, where the maid was maid no more.
0:29:53 > 0:29:58In relative terms, these buildings must have cost an absolute fortune.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01Yes, but they had enormous amounts of money.
0:30:01 > 0:30:07And they thought it was worth spending it on this show of wealth and power.
0:30:07 > 0:30:12Was it something that the lower classes thought was a complete waste of time?
0:30:12 > 0:30:14What was their attitude to all this extravagance?
0:30:14 > 0:30:20It's hard to know, but every now and again they were invited into the gardens, particularly here at Stowe,
0:30:20 > 0:30:24and there were huge parties where there were thousands of people in the gardens.
0:30:24 > 0:30:29And they were treated to free food and they got to see the fireworks and listen to music
0:30:29 > 0:30:32and have a jolly good time and go home after midnight.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35But there was also a degree of making sure
0:30:35 > 0:30:41all the locals voted for you, those that were eligible to vote, as well. So there was a bit of power as well.
0:30:41 > 0:30:46At Stowe, as the century progressed, the concept of an idealised landscape
0:30:46 > 0:30:50evolved beyond the designs of Bridgeman and Kent.
0:30:50 > 0:30:55The designers wanted parts of the garden to look even more rustic.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59The existing buildings here looked out of place,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02so they invented a way to blend them into their surroundings.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15At Stowe, the best example of this is the grotto.
0:31:18 > 0:31:24It was originally built in 1730, as an elaborate Italianate banqueting house.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28But 50 years later, as its surroundings were being deliberately
0:31:28 > 0:31:33overgrown, it was partially buried and covered with rough stone.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37It had been instantly aged to a dark and cosy nook.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45You know, Kate, everybody worries about that shady corner
0:31:45 > 0:31:48down the bottom of the garden where nothing will grow.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50The answer is a grotto.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52Yep. Every garden should have one.
0:31:52 > 0:31:59It's decorated with these enormous rustic chunks of tufa, limestone, what you know as limestone deposit,
0:31:59 > 0:32:04which creates a light rock which we now plant alpines in, hollow them out.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06But here the whole thing's covered in it.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08It's to make it look much more cave-like.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11The building started off a bit more classical,
0:32:11 > 0:32:14and you can just see little bits of that kind of running through.
0:32:14 > 0:32:20But the idea is it's dark and it's cave-like and all the planting here would have been very dark and shady.
0:32:20 > 0:32:25So it's quite a private place as well as a public place when they had the big parties.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27So they changed the look of it over the years then.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30It started with these little tiny pebbles.
0:32:30 > 0:32:35- as we can see on the floor, and then it suddenly got much more chunky, rugged and wild.- Exactly.
0:32:35 > 0:32:36So what was it for?
0:32:36 > 0:32:38Well, they used it a lot for parties.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42They had lights in all the trees, and lights on the lake,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45and musicians stationed on boats on the lake.
0:32:45 > 0:32:51And then the best place for the best guests was in here where they'd all be eating syllabub.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54Oh, very nice. Would you care to join me for a syllabub?
0:32:54 > 0:32:59- I would, absolutely. - Come and get blotto in the grotto.
0:32:59 > 0:33:05Ageing buildings like the grotto was an elaborate form of set dressing.
0:33:05 > 0:33:11Using design to give the appearance of nature reclaiming the landscape.
0:33:13 > 0:33:18And there are simple ways you can apply this to a corner of your own garden.
0:33:25 > 0:33:30Premature ageing is something that most of us guard against.
0:33:30 > 0:33:36But sometimes you want to emulate in certain corners of your garden that 18th century idea of something
0:33:36 > 0:33:39looking established and maybe even ruinous.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41And there are various ways of doing it.
0:33:41 > 0:33:48With clay flower pots, for instance, that are brand new, sometimes they stand out as just being too strident.
0:33:48 > 0:33:54Well, the easiest way to get them to age more rapidly is to paint on natural yoghurt.
0:33:54 > 0:33:59Dip your brush into it and just coat the entire pot.
0:33:59 > 0:34:04Now, there's absolutely no point then in putting this pot back into full
0:34:04 > 0:34:08and blazing sunshine, because it will just dry out once more.
0:34:08 > 0:34:17But kept somewhere shady, mosses will very quickly colonise that yoghurt and you get this sort of finish.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19Antiqued. Distressed.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22Call it what you will, but much more natural looking.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26Underneath this bench, where it's nice and shady,
0:34:26 > 0:34:28there's a good habitat for ferns.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32They like it dim and damp.
0:34:32 > 0:34:37And if you get some logs and arrange them down here
0:34:37 > 0:34:42in the shade, and stuff some compost back in there.
0:34:44 > 0:34:46And just...
0:34:46 > 0:34:48get this out.
0:34:48 > 0:34:54It's quite important that you don't leave any air pockets around it.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56Stuff plenty of...
0:34:56 > 0:35:00compost in there. And on the top as well.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03That root ball will dry. Make sure it's quite soggy when you put it in.
0:35:03 > 0:35:09And with that stuffed around it, and another log pushed into there.
0:35:09 > 0:35:10Firm it down.
0:35:10 > 0:35:17A bit of bark to further keep the sun off.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21It won't be long before that gets going. And in the little crevices at the bottom,
0:35:23 > 0:35:28you can pack moss. This is obviously where it's going to remain shady.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31Look at that. You'd think that
0:35:31 > 0:35:35had been there almost, when I've swept it up,
0:35:35 > 0:35:37for ages.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46In the sunny crevices in the paving, you need something
0:35:46 > 0:35:50which can cope with baking heat, rather than damp shade.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54And here you can use things like house leeks, and thymes.
0:35:54 > 0:36:01What you need to do is to scrape out the mortar or the earth between the paving slabs
0:36:01 > 0:36:09and replace it with a bit of potting compost that gives them not very much, but something to root into.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11Just gently feed it down there with your fingers.
0:36:11 > 0:36:16And then you can set about breaking up these pots.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20Don't worry that you're going to destroy them. They're quite resilient little things.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23These rosettes will come off with a bit of root at the bottom.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26Want just a bit more compost in there.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28You can push them into it.
0:36:28 > 0:36:34And then, with your fingers, quite fiddly, firm it around it.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38You're actually, I suppose, to be absolutely honest, set dressing.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41You know, you're creating a bit of garden theatre.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44And with a bit more set dressing,
0:36:44 > 0:36:48a corner like this will suddenly look as though it's been there forever.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04There are added benefits to creating an area like this.
0:37:04 > 0:37:11All these nooks and crannies will encourage insects and other forms of life to set up home here.
0:37:19 > 0:37:24At Stowe, as you feast your eyes on these verdant epic views,
0:37:24 > 0:37:27you can't help feeling there's something missing.
0:37:27 > 0:37:33Here at Stowe, you won't see thousands of flowers vying for your attention.
0:37:33 > 0:37:39But sometimes, as a gardener, it's nice not to be bombarded by colour,
0:37:39 > 0:37:42but to seek solace in gentle greens.
0:37:42 > 0:37:49But, contrary to popular opinion, the 18th century landscaped garden did have flowers.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51Quite bright ones.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55Because of the scale of landscaped gardens, flower borders were assigned
0:37:55 > 0:37:59to areas that were used for entertaining in the summer months.
0:38:02 > 0:38:07Historically their role in the grand landscaped garden has been overlooked.
0:38:12 > 0:38:19But here at Painshill Park in Surrey, new research into landscape flower schemes has enabled head gardener
0:38:19 > 0:38:26Kathleen Clark and her colleague Karen Bridgeman to recreate 18th-century flower borders.
0:38:26 > 0:38:31I think one thing that really surprised me was the range of plants,
0:38:31 > 0:38:33flowering plants they had available.
0:38:33 > 0:38:38And also I'd always assumed that they'd have gone for the very basic kinds of things. But they weren't.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41In the 18th century they wanted stripes.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43They wanted double flowers, they wanted variegation.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45They wanted flowers that looked rude.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48And it all ties in with what I suppose we think of
0:38:48 > 0:38:50as the 18th-century sense of humour and character.
0:38:50 > 0:38:55If you look at some of the ways they painted their houses and the kind of
0:38:55 > 0:38:59garish colours, we'd think it was just dreadful now, really bad taste.
0:38:59 > 0:39:04But they loved it. Which is why, you know, these beds don't have a colour scheme.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06'It's just as much colour as you can get really.'
0:39:06 > 0:39:07- Got it, got it.- Yeah, OK.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09Well done. Can I let go now?
0:39:09 > 0:39:11Yeah, great.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14- Oh, that looks better. - Oh, thank goodness.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18I've spent a lot of the last few years looking in garden catalogues
0:39:18 > 0:39:21that are available in very specialist libraries and museums.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23And they reveal a wealth of information about the
0:39:23 > 0:39:26plants that nurserymen were selling in the 18th century.
0:39:26 > 0:39:31At this time, more and more plant introductions were arriving from newly-discovered continents.
0:39:33 > 0:39:38And as a result, London's plant nurseries were awash with bloom and blossom.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47All these plants were available to the 18th century gardener.
0:39:47 > 0:39:53And we make sure that we grow exactly what they could have used at the time.
0:39:53 > 0:39:59Some of our best-loved garden flowers were introduced to our shores in the 18th century.
0:40:01 > 0:40:06This white Obedient plant, Physostegia Virginiana,
0:40:06 > 0:40:14came over from North America in 1714, along with the Spider Flower, Cleome, in 1731.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22Pelargoniums were becoming increasingly popular in the 18th century.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25As explorers discovered more of South Africa,
0:40:25 > 0:40:30particularly the Cape of Good Hope, more and more different kinds of pelargoniums were coming back.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41We have a plant just over here,
0:40:41 > 0:40:44which in the 18th century they called the long-tubed marvel of Peru.
0:40:44 > 0:40:49And you can see by the length of the flowers just how weird and wacky it is.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53We suspect they particularly liked it in the 18th century because it looks
0:40:53 > 0:40:56just a little bit rude, and they did like that kind of thing very much.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59But it also has a very, very sweet scent, it's very strongly perfumed.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01And it's just great fun.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05But I've been trying to grow that from seed successfully since 2004.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07And the first few batches I tried never germinated.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11So this year it's so exciting, because here it is, it's going to flower
0:41:11 > 0:41:14and I'm going to smell the same scent that probably 18th-century gardeners
0:41:14 > 0:41:15could have enjoyed as well.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28Like many of the great landscape gardens,
0:41:28 > 0:41:36Stowe covers an enormous area, more than 400 acres, and includes three enormous water features.
0:41:40 > 0:41:47For the landowner in the 18th century, the ultimate status symbol was to have one of these.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51Not the boat, the lake.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05Not only did it reflect the sky, it also reflected
0:42:05 > 0:42:09the wealth of the owner. And they weren't cheap to make.
0:42:12 > 0:42:19This one at Stowe took 20 men with shovels a year and a half to excavate.
0:42:19 > 0:42:24And then they diverted the stream into it, to create an 11-acre lake.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39But as the century progressed, the scale of these features
0:42:39 > 0:42:44would be surpassed by a young man who worked his apprenticeship at Stowe.
0:42:44 > 0:42:50As a designer, he'd ultimately become the most important figure in the landscape movement.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54One of Stowe's best kept secrets is that young Lancelot Brown
0:42:54 > 0:42:59cut his teeth right here, working as head gardener.
0:42:59 > 0:43:07These are Stowe's Grecian fields, 60 acres of land in which a 25-year-old Brown wanted to create a lake.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10But he couldn't get enough water to fill it.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17Brown was renowned for assessing the capabilities of a site.
0:43:17 > 0:43:22So would this view have looked more breathtaking with water?
0:43:22 > 0:43:25We'll never know.
0:43:27 > 0:43:32Lancelot "Capability" Brown was experimenting with giant ideas,
0:43:32 > 0:43:35and they would make him hugely popular.
0:43:35 > 0:43:41After Stowe, he went on to reshape the nation's landscape from Northumberland to Devon.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47He pushed the idea of improving on nature.
0:43:47 > 0:43:52But unlike Bridgeman and Kent, his designs were almost invisible.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55And one of the ways he achieved this was in his use of trees.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08Before the 18th century, trees were predominantly used
0:44:08 > 0:44:12to extend the architecture of the house.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14They'd often be planted in a single variety
0:44:14 > 0:44:18to complement the straight lines and symmetry of the formal design.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21But in Brown's grand, picturesque vision,
0:44:21 > 0:44:26trees are planted in groups, with darker evergreens contrasting
0:44:26 > 0:44:31with the lighter tones of deciduous varieties like beech, oak and lime.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36Trees were like accents in Brown's design.
0:44:36 > 0:44:41They framed the views and put detail into vast swathes of green.
0:44:41 > 0:44:47They were also handy for blocking out unsightly views of local peasants.
0:44:50 > 0:44:55But despite the natural look of the design, it was an ecological disaster.
0:44:57 > 0:45:03Back then, there were no tree preservation orders, so entire woodlands were ripped up
0:45:03 > 0:45:07and mature trees repositioned to achieve "the look".
0:45:14 > 0:45:18Instead of creating an idealised view of nature, at Ryewater nursery,
0:45:18 > 0:45:23in Dorset, they're designing with trees in a way that actively encourages it.
0:45:28 > 0:45:33I like to amuse and entertain and amaze.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35But then on that top layer,
0:45:35 > 0:45:38there's the very serious element of conservation.
0:45:39 > 0:45:43All the trees here have been planted deliberately.
0:45:44 > 0:45:48Falkland Little is head gardener at Ryewater.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Ryewater's a relatively new garden. It hasn't been here for hundreds of years.
0:45:51 > 0:45:55And if we didn't have the trees, we wouldn't have the sort of feeling of
0:45:55 > 0:45:57permanence that we're getting.
0:45:59 > 0:46:04The landscape has been divided into 15 individual themed gardens.
0:46:04 > 0:46:09The mood and purpose of each is defined by the trees that are planted there.
0:46:09 > 0:46:15Most in the wider landscape are native trees, because somehow
0:46:15 > 0:46:21exotic trees out in the wilds don't sort of look right and don't feel right, at least to my eye.
0:46:22 > 0:46:28Closest to the house is an idiosyncratic garden known as the "plant prison".
0:46:28 > 0:46:33The plant prison is unashamedly a piece of fun.
0:46:33 > 0:46:39The prison cells contain the thugs and the criminals of the plant world, and we use the trees
0:46:39 > 0:46:43as the prison guards, including a native hawthorn,
0:46:43 > 0:46:46but a vestigiate form, which is very beautiful.
0:46:46 > 0:46:50The hawthorns here are planted deliberately very close.
0:46:50 > 0:46:54They're very slow-growing and they have this excellent habit
0:46:54 > 0:46:57of knitting together to form one dense head.
0:46:57 > 0:47:02Cretagous tanacetifolia, it's got the most silvery leaves you can think of.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05In the spring, it's covered with blossom, white blossom.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08Their fruits are just beginning to colour up
0:47:08 > 0:47:14and the fieldfares and the redwings come through like marauding gangs.
0:47:14 > 0:47:18Wonderful for humans to observe and great for wildlife as well.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24Out into the more open landscape, Clive has created a folly.
0:47:26 > 0:47:32This is an island in a sea of wild flowers. It's an island of dreams.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43We have a circle of vestigiate Scots pines.
0:47:43 > 0:47:49A native tree, and very rarely planted, Scots pine is bombproof, very hardy.
0:47:49 > 0:47:54And maybe one day, the pine hawk moth will come in and lay eggs on them.
0:47:54 > 0:48:00They'll grow up like dark green columns, and it'll add to that sort of Dali-esque dreamscape feel.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06Near to this formal design, you come across a wild orchard.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09It feels as though it's been here forever.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11But it's only ten years old.
0:48:11 > 0:48:16The fruit trees have been deliberately unmanicured and left to grow wild.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20We planted it up with every single sort of fruit tree you can get.
0:48:20 > 0:48:24It's one of the most sort of natural parts of Ryewater. It's just left.
0:48:24 > 0:48:31I mean, look we've got plums, Japanese wine berries, raspberries, you name it.
0:48:31 > 0:48:33I think pretty much all the birds we have
0:48:33 > 0:48:36at Ryewater will give the fruit here a go and they really appreciate it.
0:48:36 > 0:48:43That really is the ethos of this place, is working hand in hand, alongside nature.
0:48:43 > 0:48:48The whole estate really is a gigantic nature reserve.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51I'm a happy man and I'm a very lucky man.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57It's as well to remember that although the tree is one of the key
0:48:57 > 0:49:03structural elements in the garden, it's also a valuable resource for wildlife.
0:49:03 > 0:49:11If you're thinking of planting one, make sure it'll last and fit in with the design and scale of your garden.
0:49:11 > 0:49:15Of course, the traditional place to plant a tree in a small garden
0:49:15 > 0:49:20is slap bang in the middle of the lawn, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23Choose your tree carefully, choose your spot carefully.
0:49:23 > 0:49:25Plenty of light, doesn't get in the way.
0:49:25 > 0:49:32And this is a tree which was introduced to this country in the early 18th century.
0:49:32 > 0:49:35Ginkgo biloba, the maidenhair tree.
0:49:35 > 0:49:39The tree that they tell us was on the earth when dinosaurs were in charge.
0:49:39 > 0:49:41It's a beautiful pyramidal tree.
0:49:41 > 0:49:45It doesn't get too wide, or even too high.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48Plenty of compost in the bottom of the hole.
0:49:48 > 0:49:49Always be generous to a tree.
0:49:49 > 0:49:53It's going to be there probably for longer than you are.
0:49:56 > 0:50:02It is really important that this tree has been soaked in this pot before it was planted
0:50:02 > 0:50:05and you might be thinking yourself, cor, that's a bit of a small tree.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07Why doesn't he get a decent sized one?
0:50:07 > 0:50:12Well, if there's one thing I've learnt, it is that the smaller the tree,
0:50:12 > 0:50:16the better and more readily it establishes itself.
0:50:16 > 0:50:20Now, if it's too tiny the chances are it could be nibbled off by rabbits
0:50:20 > 0:50:27or deer or broken by the dog, but one which is between waist and chest height is for me, perfect.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31It's young, it's vigorous, and within three or four years
0:50:31 > 0:50:34it will have outstripped one which is twice its size.
0:50:34 > 0:50:38So don't be tempted to always go for the biggest one.
0:50:38 > 0:50:40I want to get my boot behind it now,
0:50:40 > 0:50:44because that needs to be really firm round the bottom.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46So we need a proper tree tie.
0:50:46 > 0:50:48Don't try using an old pair of tights.
0:50:48 > 0:50:52Well, you can if you want, but to be absolutely honest it's a waste of time.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55Treat it to a proper proprietary one.
0:50:56 > 0:51:02And there is one vital thing to do now and that's to give it a drink.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05This is a two-gallon can.
0:51:05 > 0:51:09You can give any newly-planted tree
0:51:09 > 0:51:15at least two of these but be patient, let it soak down in between dousings.
0:51:15 > 0:51:20If you splather it all on, it'll just run off over there somewhere.
0:51:20 > 0:51:22It needs to go right down by the tree
0:51:22 > 0:51:27and while you're waiting for it to go down, finish.
0:51:27 > 0:51:31Very important, just a little run around the hole.
0:51:31 > 0:51:36Frankly, it doesn't really affect the tree very much, but if offends my sensibilities if it's not neat.
0:51:53 > 0:51:59Ever since I first set eyes on Stowe, I've been astonished, not just by the beauty of the place,
0:51:59 > 0:52:07but also by the fact that the principals and ideas in use here can be applied to gardens of any size.
0:52:12 > 0:52:17This is Clearbeck in Lancashire, where art lecturer, Peter Osborne,
0:52:17 > 0:52:23and his wife, Bronwen, a retired nurse, have created elements of the 18th century landscape
0:52:23 > 0:52:27in a garden that is a fraction of the size of Stowe.
0:52:27 > 0:52:33Their four-acre garden has been 25 years in the making.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37It has meandering paths.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40Buildings and sculptures that have been aged.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43Sculpted lawns
0:52:43 > 0:52:46and giant trees that frame the design.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48It even has a lake.
0:52:51 > 0:52:55I guess we wanted to recreate something that had the character
0:52:55 > 0:52:59of the early 18th century thinking garden, but in a more modern form.
0:53:02 > 0:53:09The garden is very much planned to encourage sauntering around bends where you come across things.
0:53:11 > 0:53:17Everybody says there's a surprise round every corner and that's just what we're trying to say really.
0:53:20 > 0:53:27It's landscape, but it's also things happening in the landscape that will intrigue people.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35We planted this nearly 20 years ago.
0:53:35 > 0:53:38It's Leylandii, of course, and it grows very fast but we
0:53:38 > 0:53:47wanted a really bold statement at the point where the flower garden became a wild landscape garden.
0:53:50 > 0:53:55It's about 40 feet or so up here, but I can handle heights
0:53:55 > 0:53:58because I've done a lot of mountaineering over the years.
0:54:10 > 0:54:16I'm pulling out these very pretty water lilies from the lake, because they cause the most terrible
0:54:16 > 0:54:20silting up when they eventually decay and they also prevent us
0:54:20 > 0:54:25moving the boat out of the boathouse and into the channel of the lake.
0:54:25 > 0:54:31So several times in the summer we try to get them under control.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34It's actually quite pleasant, and if it's a nice hot afternoon
0:54:34 > 0:54:38it's actually quite a joy to be in the water, because it's really cool
0:54:38 > 0:54:42and the damsel flies are flying about with me and it's really rather beautiful.
0:54:46 > 0:54:50The whole area was a very flat field, and, of course we had huge
0:54:50 > 0:54:58diggers that came in and moved the earth and then we had the wonderful spoils to make levels in the garden.
0:55:01 > 0:55:05There's so much enjoyment in this garden, all through the year
0:55:05 > 0:55:09and you wouldn't be able to achieve that without having developed the landscape.
0:55:14 > 0:55:19The pyramid was the first structure that we made in the garden.
0:55:19 > 0:55:25I needed something really sculptural in the middle of lots of greenery
0:55:25 > 0:55:30and the shape of the pyramid was just the very thing.
0:55:30 > 0:55:35As you approach the pyramid, you go past black plants.
0:55:39 > 0:55:47And then as you come through to the other side, into life, you come to a sequence of gold and white.
0:55:47 > 0:55:52Although it's built of old concrete blocks, it's surfaced over with
0:55:52 > 0:56:01a sort of mixture of cement and lime and peat, actually, and cow manure, so that things would grow on it.
0:56:01 > 0:56:06Bronwen didn't help with this, I don't think it was her cup of tea really, with the cow muck.
0:56:09 > 0:56:14We had a party and people decided it should be called the Temple of the Tall Trees.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17You couldn't have stone pillars, because it's so boggy here
0:56:17 > 0:56:19that the whole thing would just sink into the ground.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21So they're really hollow and light.
0:56:21 > 0:56:28They're made of drainage pipes and they're just coated up with the same mixture that is on the pyramid.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30We love to have the flowers.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34It's quite important to us, as well as the landscape aspect.
0:56:34 > 0:56:39It would seem quite bleak sometimes without the flowers.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42We have ideas and work through things together.
0:56:42 > 0:56:45We don't always agree about what we're doing.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48And I tend to modify some of your wilder schemes, don't I?
0:56:48 > 0:56:50Yes.
0:56:50 > 0:56:57Peter and Bronwen's garden shows us the direct link between the designs of Bridgeman, Kent and Brown
0:56:57 > 0:57:00and our own more modest gardens.
0:57:06 > 0:57:14But towards the end of the 18th century, the future of the landscape movement was far from certain.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17Yes, just like today, nothing stands still.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21You just get used to a look, and then the fashion changes.
0:57:21 > 0:57:23Columns are in, columns are out.
0:57:23 > 0:57:27Decking's in, decking's out.
0:57:29 > 0:57:36But the grandeur of the landscape movement meant that its effects couldn't be so easily swept away
0:57:36 > 0:57:44and, as a result, it still affects our gardening perceptions and aspirations to this day.
0:57:44 > 0:57:45I'm so glad.
0:57:48 > 0:57:57Next time, naturalism bites the dust, as the landscape movement makes way for 19th century showmanship.
0:57:57 > 0:58:05I'll review a garden full of surprises that typifies the brash and bold designs of the Victorians.
0:58:30 > 0:58:32Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:32 > 0:58:34E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk