The essence of an English garden design speaks volumes about the character, history and traditions of the English. The roots of garden design and botanical knowledge extends back via the Roman conquest to the library of Aristotle. This rich lineage has provided landscape designers and gardeners down the ages, with a slew of creative options for transforming open spaces into horticultural havens. Today there is an anything goes aspect to English garden design with contemporary landscaperu2019s cherry picking from all manner of erau2019s, styles and themes to create something truly unique.u00a0
For centuries, English gardens were the domains of the rich and the clergy. Most often highly architectural in design, walled sanctuaries mostly, ordered and controlled to keep nature at bay and the prevailing landscape out. Natural contours were leveled or terraced and trees and evergreen shrubs clipped or severely trained to make patterns and shapes that fit the overall design. u00a0Geometric shapes like ovals, circles, rectangles or squares were offset by centered walkways with sundials and fountain focal points.u00a0