gardens

Opening up
One of the gardens where this was done to
perfection was Painshill in Surrey. Created
in the 1730s by Charles Hamilton (one of
Bartram’s customers), Painshill was famed
for the painterly use of American exotics.
Shaded pathways gave way to perfumed
shrubberies, while, in autumn, the blazing
foliage of Bartram’s deciduous trees
contrasted with the thousands of American
evergreens that Hamilton had raised from
seed. These made a mottled tapestry of
greens, ranging from sombre dark shades
to almost yellow: a picture so perfect that
Hamilton enjoyed it twice, seeing it
reflected in the silver surface of the lake
that cut through Painshill.
Everywhere in England, gardeners were
painting with the American species - even
Capability Brown, the man who would be
remembered for creating the archetypical
English landscape garden. At Petworth in
Sussex, Brown created ‘a heavy-timbered
American forest’; and at Tottenham Park in
Wiltshire, he planted evergreen American
cedars, white pines and balsam fir, as well
as spring-flowering tulip trees, and sumachs
that turned flamboyantly red and orange
in autumn. Later, Brown would also
tinge Burton Constable in Yorkshire with
brilliant autumn colours from American ash
trees, sugar maples and scarlet oaks.
American plants became so popular in
England that Peter Collinson had his
garden emptied by thieves several times.
To deter criminals, Collinson and his
horticultural friends had a Parliamentary
Act passed in 1766 whereby plant thieves
could be punished with transportation to
the penal colonies. The proceedings of the
Old Bailey show that several thieves were
sent away ‘for plucking up, digging up,
breaking, spoiling, and carrying away’
flowers, shrubs and trees.
history: georgian
ABOVE Plants and seeds were transported back from America in boxes, crates, modified barrels and
baskets - these reproduction versions are on display at Painshill. ABOVE RIGHT The evergreen borders
include native American conifers and shrubs such as Juniperus communis, cistus, Ilex aquifolium,
Cupressus sempervirens, Rhamnus alaternus and Laurus nobilis.
By the time Bartram died in 1777, the
English garden had been completely
transformed, and had become so fashionable
that its plants and designs were exported
abroad. In France and Germany, Italy and
Russia, gardeners recreated ‘le jardin
anglais’, ‘der Englische Garten’, and ‘il
giardino inglese’ - ironically all consisting of
Bartram’s American trees.
Andrea Wulf’s The Brother Gardeners & The Founding
Gardeners (Windmill Books) are out now.
Intriguing introductions from America were grown by Charles Hamilton from seed sent back from Philadelphia. Many gave incredible autumn colour or late
and early season flowers, and the range of evergreens offered interest for winter. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT A bloom of American shrub Hypericum
prolificum post-flowering; Cornus florida; scarlet oak Quercus coccinea; Acer saccharum; black oak Quercus velutina; Rhus typhina, the stag’s horn sumach.
February 2013 the english garden 61