Creative Garden Photography

Garden Styles

Nature is beautiful in many of its guises, from untouched mountaintops to coastal beaches and arctic plains. When humans impose their vision upon nature, the results can be stunning and beautiful, although sometimes raw wilderness speaks more to my soul than any cultivated garden.

In any case, the taxonomy of garden design has identified a number of garden styles that are typical of specific eras and areas. These include:

• French gardens: Usually extremely formal and delineated by hedges, paths, and prescribed vistas (see pages 26–33). The French garden style is derived from the gardens of the Italian Renaissance, so might be better called the “Franco-Italian” garden.
• English gardens: In contrast to the Franco-Italian garden, the ...