The Gardens Trust six part series of lectures on the Victorian Garden continues on September 29 with an online talk by Caroline Ikin on The Wild Garden: William Robinson and Alfred Parsons. The gardener and journalist William Robinson gave voice to the movement towards informality in gardens in the second half of the nineteenth century, promoting the embellishment of woodland to add interest and color, and the creation of naturalized wildflower meadows. His advice was underpinned by the principle of positioning plants in situations where they would naturally flourish. The idea of wild gardening was not concerned with a return to nature; although endorsing the use of wildflowers, Robinson also promoted the introduction of hardy exotics. Art still triumphed over nature in the wild garden, as exemplified in Robinson’s manifesto The Wild Garden, first published in 1870. Subsequent editions included nearly a hundred illustrations by Alfred Parsons, an artist and garden designer, many of them depicting plants from Robinson’s own garden at Gravetye in Sussex. This lecture will assess the impact of Robinson’s and Parson’s contribution to garden theory, through an examination of their writing, art and garden design.
Dr Caroline Ikin is a Curator at the National Trust, with a portfolio including the gardens at Standen and Nymans. She has previously worked for the Gardens Trust and is a writer specializing in nineteenth century art, architecture and gardens. Caroline is author of The Victorian Garden (Bloomsbury, 2012), The Victorian Gardener (Bloomsbury, 2014) and The Kitchen Garden (Amberley, 2017), and regularly contributes book and exhibition reviews to various publications. Her PhD thesis examined the designed landscape created by John Ruskin at Brantwood. £5 each or all 6 for £30. Register on Eventbrite HERE.
