The English Landscape Garden

Book excerpt: The eighteenth-century phenomenon of the English landscape garden was so widespread that even today, when so much has been built over or otherwise changed, examples remain throughout England. Although seemingly natural, the English landscape was generally the result of considerable effort, contrivance, and design skill, the glorious outcome of "the art that conceals art." Taking many forms, the landscape garden might involve digging lakes, raising or leveling hills, or planting vast numbers of trees--whatever was required to show nature to best advantage. Richly illustrated throughout, this book uncovers the complex, multi-layered, and wide-ranging story of the landscape garden in England.