The English Garden and National Identity: The Competing Styles of Garden Design, 1870-1914 (Modern Architecture and Cultural Identity)

This book examines the fierce debate on the styles and forms of garden design that took place in England c. 1870-1914. Focusing on the wild garden, the cottage garden, the formal garden and the synthesis of the formal and natural styles, Anne Helmreich argues that design principles were indelibly shaped by the quest for a powerful English national identity. She demonstrates how "Englishness" was purportedly expressed through the leading styles of garden design and why the garden was promoted as a symbol of national identity.