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Plan of a flower bed at Dyrham Park, c.1715 (D1799/P2)
Gardens fell into two categories; formal gardens and kitchen gardens. While the latter were usually hidden away within walled enclosures, the former were often lavish and always on full display for residents and guest to stroll through at their leisure. Formal gardens were often planned down to the last detail; as shown by this plan of a flower bed at Dyrham Park. Such work often had input from famous garden and landscape designers of the time such as Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, William Emes, William Kent, John Webb and Humphry Repton (Dyrham). Sadly, although plans of these gardens have sometimes survived or can be gleaned from estate maps and plans, the planting regime rarely does and we have few indications of what plants were grown.
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