English Gardens 英伦花园

戴维·罗斯 王一宇

Roman Gardens

The earliest English gardens that we know of were planted by the Roman conquerors of Britain in the 1st century AD. The Roman gardens that we know the most about are those of the large villas and palaces. The best example of the latter is probably Fishbourne Roman Palace in Sussex， where an early garden has been partly reconstructed.

Fishbourne shows a carefully symmetrical formal planting of low box hedges split by gravelled walks. The hedges are punctuated1 by small niches which probably held ornaments like statues， urns， or garden seats. The formal garden near the house gave way to a landscaped green space leading down to the waterside below. There is also a small kitchen garden which is planted with fruits and vegetables common in Roman Britain.

We know very little about the gardens of Anglo-Saxon England， which is another way of saying that the warlike Anglo-Saxons probably did not hold gardening to be important.

Monastic Gardens

It was not until the Middle Ages that gardens once more became important in British life. Monasteries had both kitchen gardens and herb gardens to provide the practicalities of food and medicine. The monastery cloister provided an open green space surrounded by covered walks， generally with a well， or fountain at the centre.

Castles sometimes made room for small courtyard gardens， with paths through raised flower beds. Other common features of medieval castle gardens include turf seats and high mounds， or mounts， which provided a view over the castle walls.

As castles gave way to fortified manor houses in the later medieval period， the garden became a simple green space surrounded by hedges or fences. Games such as bowls or tennis took place on the lawn.

The next stage of the English garden came after the Reformation. Many landowners enclosed common land to create parks for keeping deer or cattle. This “natural” landscape gave way to formal gardens near the house， still sheltered from the outside world by hedges or walls.

Tudor Gardens

The Tudors followed Italian influence in creating gardens which mirrored the alignment of the house， creating a harmony of line and proportion that had been missing in the Medieval period. For the first time since the Romans left， sundials and statues were once more popular garden ornaments.

But the most prominent contribution of the Tudors to gardening was the knot garden. Knots were intricate patterns of lawn hedges， usually of box， intended to be viewed from the mount， or raised walks. The spaces between the hedges were often filled with flowers， shrubs， or herbs.

No Tudor gardens have survived intact， but some of the best examples still remaining can be glimpsed at Haddon Hall （Derbyshire）， Montacute House （Somerset）， and Hampton Court Palace （near London）. The latter has reconstructions of Tudor knot gardens， but these were planted in the early 20th century.

If the Tudors were heavily influenced by Italian ideas， the Stuarts were slaves to the French fashion for formal gardens. The chief feature of this French style is a broad avenue sweeping away from the house， flanked by rectangular parterres2 made of rigidly formal low hedges. The prime survivors of this style can be seen at Blickling Hall （Norfolk）， Melbourne Hall （Derbyshire）， and Chatsworth House （also Derbyshire）.

An offshoot of the French style was provided by the Dutch， who advocated more water， flower bulbs， trees planted in tubs， and topiary. Westbury Court （Gloucestershire） shows this Dutch style.

The 18th century saw a swing from Renaissance formality to a more “natural” look3. One of the prime movers of this style was the art patron， Lord Burlington. William Kent designed an influential garden for Lord Burlington at Chiswick House4 based on carefully calculated vistas with temples， statues， and classical ornaments punctuating openings in treed parkland5.

English Landscape Gardens

Lines were no longer straight， paths curve and wander， and parterres are replaced by grass. Trees were planted in clusters rather than in straight lines， and rounded lakes replaced the rectangular ponds of the earlier style. The garden became open， a park joining the house to the outside world rather than a carefully nurtured refuge from it.

This natural style begun by Kent evolved into the “landscape garden” under Kents pupil and son-in-law， Lancelot “Capability” Brown. Brown， whose curious nickname came from his habit of telling prospective clients that their gardens showed “great capabilities”， had an enormous effect upon the course of English gardening and architectural style.

The landscape garden made the English country house a part of the fields and farmlands surrounding it. Gone were hedgerows and fences. Gone， too， were formal beds and walks. Grass parkland was brought right up to the doors of the house. The greatest surviving landscape gardens by Capability Brown are at Longleat （Wiltshire）， Burghley House （Lincolnshire）， Petworth House （West Sussex）， and Blenheim Palace6 （Oxon）.

Humphrey Repton carried on Browns landscape garden mastery， though Repton introduced gravel walks and re-introduced separate flower gardens. Repton replaced the earlier classical ornaments with romantic structures like grottoes and fake ruins. See a largely unchanged Repton garden at Betchworth House （Surrey）.

Victorian Garden

In the Victorian era， the pendulum swung again， to massed beds of flowers （bedding out7 plants raised in greenhouses）， exotic colours， and intricate designs. The most influential gardeners of this period were J.C. Loudon， and later， Joseph Paxton （Chatsworth House and Kew）.

The Victorian period also saw a profusion of public gardens and green spaces aimed at bringing culture to the masses. Some of the finest Victorian gardens are public parks， like Peoples Park in Halifax. Taste in the late Victorian period varied between formal and the “wild” garden advocated by the influential writer William Robinson. Sometimes the formal and informal looks were combined in the same garden， as at Sissinghurst Castle （Kent）， and Hidcote Manor Gardens （Gloucestershire）.

Modern Garden

Gertrude Jekyll is arguably the most influential gardener of 20th century England. She popularized the herbaceous border8 and planning a garden based on colour schemes. This built on the tradition of the Cottage Garden， with its profusion of flowers wherever space permits， and climbers on trellises and walls. Jekyll saw the house and garden as part of an integral whole， rather than the garden as an afterthought to the building. Her work survives at Marsh Court （Hampshire） and Hestercombe （Somerset）.

Gardening has always been a matter of personal taste， and often the outstanding works of previous generations are torn down to make way for the style of the next. For that reason， it is hard to find unaltered examples of historical gardens in England.

Yet， throughout Britain there are gardens great and small， formal and informal， private and public， that illustrate the British passion for creating green， growing spaces of their own. All are different， and all， like their owners and creators， have a distinct personality.

羅马时期花园

罗马征服者于公元1世纪建在英伦土地上的花园，是我们所知最早的英式花园。我们最熟悉的罗马花园是大型别墅和宫殿里的花园，后者的最佳典范可能是苏塞克斯郡的菲什伯恩罗马宫，那里的一座早期花园已部分重建。

菲什伯恩宫展示着精心修剪、规整对称的矮绿篱，碎石路穿插其间。树篱间设有安放雕像等装饰物的小壁龛，水瓮或花园座椅。房子附近的规整式庭园已改造成一片景观绿地，一直延伸到下面水畔。还有一个小菜园，种着罗马帝国统治下的不列颠常见的蔬果。

我们对盎格鲁-撒克逊人统治下的英格兰的花园知之甚少，这也说明好战的盎格鲁-撒克逊人大概并不重视园艺。

修道院花园

直到中世纪，花园才再次在英国人生活中变得重要起来。修道院有菜园和药用植物园，提供实用的食品和药材。修道院的回廊上带顶棚的步道环绕着一片开放绿地，绿地中央通常有一口水井或一座喷泉。

城堡中有时也建造小庭园，园中一条条小径，两边铺设着隆起的花坛。中世纪城堡花园通常还都有草皮座椅和高高的土墩（或称小山丘），登临此处可以看到城堡围墙外的景致。

中世纪晚期，城堡逐步演变为设防的庄园，花园成了一片由树篱或栅栏围成的普通绿地，在草坪上可进行滚木球或打网球等游戏。

宗教改革后英伦花园进入下一阶段。许多土地所有者把公地圈起来，建造公园，饲养鹿或牛。这种“自然”景观逐步演变成房子附近的规整花园，仍然以树篱或墙围着，不受外界干扰。

都铎时期花园

都铎王室受意大利影响，建造花园时像建房子一样讲究横平坚直，达成中世纪所缺失的线条和比例上的和谐。自从罗马人离开后，日晷和雕像首次再度成为人们喜爱的花园装饰品。

但都铎王室对园艺最突出的贡献是结园。“结”是草坪树篱（通常是黄杨树篱）组成的复杂图案，意在让人们从山丘上或高出地面的步道上观看。树篱之间的空隙常由花卉、灌木或草本植物填充。

都鐸时期的花园都没能完整保存下来，但在哈顿庄园（德比郡）、蒙塔丘特府邸（萨默塞特郡）和汉普顿宫（伦敦附近）能看到现存最具代表性的几座都铎花园。虽然汉普顿宫重建了都铎结园，但那是在20世纪早期建造的。

如果说都铎时期的花园深受意大利风格影响，斯图亚特王朝时期的庭园简直是法式规整园林的翻版。这种法式风格的主要特点是从房子延伸出一条笔直宽阔的大道，两侧是长方形花圃，其中栽植着修剪规整的低矮树篱。现存的这种风格的花园主要在布利克灵大宅（诺福克郡）、墨尔本庄园（德比郡）和查茨沃斯庄园（也在德比郡）看到。

荷兰人开辟了法式风格的一个分支，他们提倡设置更多水景，使用更多球茎花卉、盆种树木和绿雕塑。韦斯特伯里邸宅（格洛斯特郡）展现了这种荷兰风格。

在18世纪，文艺复兴时期的规整式园林风格向更为“自然”的样式转变，主要推动者之一是艺术赞助人伯林顿勋爵。威廉·肯特在奇西克庄园为伯林顿勋爵设计了一座颇具影响力的花园，各处景观都经过精心规划，绿地有树丛点缀，开阔处竖立着庙宇、雕像和古典装饰性建筑。

英式自然风景园

线条不再笔直，小径曲折蜿蜒，花坛变成草地，树木成簇而不是排成一线，早前风格的长方形池塘变为圆形湖泊。公园连接起房屋和外部世界，而不再是一个精心打理的庇护所，花园变得开放了。

这种自然风格由肯特开创，在肯特的学生兼女婿——兰斯洛特·“万能”布朗的影响下，演变成“自然风致园”。布朗这个奇特的绰号源自他的一个习惯：他常对潜在客户说他们的花园“大有可为”，他对英国的园艺和建筑风格产生了巨大的影响。

自然风景园使英国乡村房屋成为周围田野和农田的一部分，树篱和篱笆不复存在，整齐的花坛和步道也不见了。草地一直延伸到房子的门口。在“万能”布朗设计的自然风景园中，现存最大的是朗利特（威尔特郡）、伯利庄园（林肯郡）、佩特沃斯庄园（西苏塞克斯郡）和布莱尼姆宫（牛津郡）。

尽管汉弗莱·雷普顿引入了碎石路并重新引入了独立花园，他传承了布朗精湛的景观园艺。他用石窟和仿遗址等浪漫主义建筑取代了早期古典装饰性建筑，如在贝奇沃思庄园（萨里郡）的雷普顿花园，至今仍基本保存完好。

维多利亚时期花园

维多利亚时期，掀起大片花圃（温室植物移栽而成）、异域色彩、复杂设计的复古风潮。这一时期最有影响力的园艺师是J. C.劳登，后来是约瑟夫·帕克斯顿（查茨沃思庄园和邱园）。

维多利亚时期也出现了大量的公共花园和绿地，旨在将文化带给大众。一些最好的维多利亚花园是公共公园，比如哈利法克斯的人民公园。维多利亚晚期的品味既有规整式设计，也有重要作家威廉·罗宾逊所倡导的“野性”花园风格。有时，规整和不规整的风格在同一座花园中融为一体，如在西辛赫斯特城堡（肯特郡）和希德科特庄园花园（格洛斯特郡）。

近代花园

格特鲁德·杰基尔可以说是20世纪英格兰地区最有影响力的园艺家。她推广草本植物花坛，根据配色方案设计花园，以传统“村舍花园”为基础，在所有空间允许之处种满鲜花，棚架和墙上爬满攀缘植物。杰基尔把房子和花园看作一个整体，而不是把花园视为房屋的补充。她的作品在马什邸宅（汉普郡）和赫斯特库姆（萨默塞特郡）保存下来。

园艺始终是个人品味的体现，上一代的杰出作品往往会被摒弃，由下一代风格取代。因此，在英国很难看到历代的花园能原汁原味地保持到现在。

然而，英国各地的花园，或大或小，或规整或不规整，或私有或公有，都彰显了英国人热衷于创造一片绿意盎然、生机勃勃的个人小天地。这些花园各不相同，如同它们的主人和设计者一样，都有自己独特的个性。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者;单位：南京师范大学外国语学院）