The key elements of Arts and Crafts garden design can still serve as inspiration for modern gardens today.
The late 19th century movement produced some of the most influential, world-renowned gardens that continue to have a tremendous impact on how we garden today.
Be inspired by artisan garden designs and incorporate some of the distinctive features into the garden ideas for your modern backyard.
Here, gardeners from the National Trust in the UK advise on some of the key elements to consider when planning a garden with traditional charm.
(Image credit: Goddards / National Trust Images / John Miller)
Artistic garden design – where to start Of course, Arts and Crafts Garden Design is the perfect choice for anyone trying to create an authentic backyard that fits their Arts and Crafts house style.
“Our contemporary approaches to gardening – like gardening with an awareness of nature and thinking of the garden as additional living space – come from the arts and crafts era,” explains National Trust (opens in new tab) Head gardener Rosie Fyles.
At the heart of the Arts and Crafts movement – as promoted by Morris & Co as early as the 1860s – was a reaction against industrialization and mass production. There was a desire to revive crafts and restore simplicity and honesty in the creation of buildings and furnishings. This extended to the Arts and Crafts Garden – the most British of all English garden ideas.
“To paraphrase William Morris, don’t have anything in your garden that you don’t know is useful or that you don’t think is beautiful. The goals of appreciating nature, simplicity and utility are achievable in any garden,” says Rosie.
1. See the garden as an extension of the home (Photo Credit: Snowshill Manor & Garden/ National Trust Images/ James Dobson)
An arts and crafts garden is seen as an extension of the home and a space for outdoor living and recreation.
When we use our grill outdoors or incorporate outdoor kitchen ideas close enough to the house for accessibility, we have the garden designers and gardeners at Arts and Crafts to thank for the idea.
“The garden was seen as a place to socialise, a leisure area with venues or garden rooms to enjoy,” explains Patrick Swan, Gardens and Parks Adviser to the National Trust.
“Gardening has been anchored around a more domestic garden that is within the reach of the ordinary homeowner in urban lots,” adds Patrick.
Embrace this aspect of Arts and Crafts garden design and incorporate patio ideas for relaxation or areas for sport and recreation and separate them into outdoor “rooms”.
“Think of visual connections through repeats from house to garden,” adds Rosie.
2. Use natural, handcrafted elements in the garden (Photo credit: Coleton Fishacre/ National Trust Images/ Carole Drake)
Arts and craft gardens involve the use of natural, often local, materials and traditional craftsmanship, while respecting regional traditions.
“The gardens have been landscaped with natural finishes in harmony with the built environment, allowing you to sit and relax in your garden,” says Patrick.
To emulate this style, use handcrafted, natural elements — “like willow and hazel wood supports or natural wood seating,” suggests Rosie Fyles.
When planning backyard landscaping ideas, be sure to use local materials that complement and reflect the structure of the home.
3. Record the environment (Photo credit: Snowshill Manor & Garden / National Trust Images / Jonathan Buckley)
An arts and crafts garden blends comfortably and harmoniously with the local natural environment.
“House and garden work together. It’s as if the house grew in the garden, the house blends into the landscape, the plants enclose the character of the house,” explains Patrick Swan.
When planning flower bed ideas, “if possible, draw on the landscape around you — blending color, texture, and even varieties of locally occurring wild plants,” says Rosie Fyles.
The entire garden should be sympathetic to the environment that surrounds it, with natural beauty and aesthetic impact, always combined with functionality.
4. Design a strong architectural garden style (Credit: Lytes Cary / National Trust Images / Ellen Rooney)
Arts and Crafts Gardens have a strong architectural style. “This not only applies to hard landscaping, but also to the use of trimmed topiary and shaped, fast-growing hedges,” explains Rosie Fyles.
Built-in architectural elements are terraces, some with steps and balustrades.
For example, the Arts and Crafts Town Garden by Goddards (opens in new tab) has three terraces. “The one closest to the house will be planted most formally, then the planting becomes more informal as you get further away from the house. The low terrace has winding paths and a rock garden,” Rosie explains.
“So to create a modern arts and crafts garden, keep it simple, but make sure the garden has ‘good bones’ – create an interesting structure with hard landscaping, trees and shrubs,” she adds added.
5. Plant plentiful flower beds (Image credit: Goddards / National Trust Images / John Miller)
The ethos of the Arts and Crafts era was to fill beds with lush flowering cottage garden plants.
“These included romantic plants like creepers, foxgloves, irises, roses, peonies, rosemary, lavender, nepeta and larkspur. Herbaceous borders were planted in a naturalistic style and densely planted in gradients,” explains Rosie.
When choosing garden color schemes, the palette for the planting would compliment the building materials and help the garden blend in comfortably and harmoniously with the home.
(Credit: Coleton Fishacre / National Trust Images / Robert Morris)
Many of the flowers chosen were the same as those used in cottage garden styles of Victorian garden design. However, what sets the herbaceous borders of an arts and crafts garden apart is often the strong, geometric lines of the beds and the swaying flowers contrasting with the harsh landscaping.
“What I love about Arts and Crafts gardens is the attention to detail that goes into everything. The individual details are beautiful, but the sum of these parts together is food for the eyes and the soul,” says Rosie.
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