The Victorian Garden
Explore the social customs and exquisitely furnished gardens of the nineteenth century in The Victorian Garden. “It was during the second half of the 19th century that Americans first fell in love with the garden,” writes Leopold. “With the same earnestness and diligence that they applied to all other areas of their lives, and the same ardor for artifice and excess, they managed to arrive at an unusual variety of exuberant garden styles.”
These styles are explored in chapters on The Furnished Garden, Small Gardens, The Kitchen Garden, and City Gardens. With a bounty of historical quotes and facts, Leopold examines the chronology and importance of many garden types, from the elegant Japanese garden and the classic moonlight garden to the charming fairy garden and children’s gardens. Also included is a source guide to finding the heirloom seeds and plants that Victorian Americans had a passion for, along with plant lists, floral combinations and antique design ideas, to help you create your own 19th century garden.