The Ornamental Wilderness in the English Garden

While today we may think of a wilderness as a wild place unspoiled by human intervention, in the 17th and 18th centuries a garden wilderness referred to a highly cultivated part of the formal garden, a place bounded by trees or tall hedges with paths to walk on and with occasional cultural delights within---statues or fountains or a summer house in the classical style. In its mature form, the wilderness constituted most of the garden and the setting in which all other features were placed. The wilderness was shady and private, a place for solitary retreat as well as social activity, an ‘artinatural’ space in which artifice and culture combined with nature. This illustrated talk examines the history and development of the English garden wilderness and takes a new look at this period of garden history through the perspective of the wilderness garden.
Joni James Bartos is the author of The Ornamental Wilderness in the English Garden (Unicorn, 2022) on this Gardens Trust talk.

Time: 18:00 GMT

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-ornamental-wilderness-in-the-english-garden-tickets-748729880227