Capability Brown, Revolutionary

Landscape design - A Reflection of the Times

The ha-ha at Stowe. Capability Brown used the ha-ha, a sunken boundary wall about 6 feet high, to keep animals and people out with no appearance of a fence. Photo - Dr Richard Murray / The ha-ha, Stowe / CC BY-SA 2.0

A revolutionary development in our relationship with nature came in the form of an 18th century English landscape designer, Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. He dismissed the grand and formal Baroque gardens of the day and shaped the earth to imitate nature. Stands of trees, undulating hills, curving walks and naturalistic lakes were the new look. Nature was not foreboding here, it was stylized.

What a giant change. We went from admiring straight lines to embracing nature’s curves. It reflected what was going on during the revolutionary times of the late 1700’s.

Capability Brown - who built upon the work of his mentor, William Kent, who had originally established the English style of landscape gardening - designed expansive landscapes for the aristocrats of that era.

Grecian Valley at Stowe - You can visit here through the National Trust Photo (©National Trust Images/Andrew Butler) go here for source

Stowe

He first made his name at Stowe, a large estate where he was Head Gardener. Brown created what became known as the Grecian Valley. It was the opposite of formality and symmetry. He made the grounds seem like it was naturally occurring - not touched by man. It propelled him to super-stardom in the landscape world.

In the Grecian valley, Capability Brown planted the eastern side of the valley with evergreens such as yews and Scots pines. The morning sun would alight upon the conifers showing off their dense evergreen foliage and creating a quiet atmosphere. He planted the western side with deciduous trees, which offered valuable shade from the afternoon sun. They flanked a long view of a Roman style temple.