THE BAROQUE INFLUENCE

The Baroque garden style began to appear in Britain during the Stuart era (1603-1714), influenced by continental gardens of the time, particularly French and Dutch. It was royalty, nobility and gentry who instigated the changes, with gardens becoming formal, fancy and vast. The spectacle of Versailles is the most ambitious example, and was influenced by the Italian gardens of the Renaissance, with their avenues, terraces, eye-catching parterres and water features, but on a much grander scale. The aim was to show off the owners’ status. There were often areas to socialise and entertain with plays and concerts, reflecting the Italian tradition of teatro di verzura, or ‘green theatre’. When William III of Orange and Mary Stuart came to power in 1689, they introduced a Dutch take on the Baroque style, which was more enclosed and smaller in scale. This proved more successful in England, being less costly to implement and better suited to the climate. The garden at Silverstone Farm is influenced by the Dutch and Italian styles of the 17th century. Owner George Carter sees it as an antidote to the landscape gardens of William Kent and Capability Brown which followed in the 18th century. These were known as picturesque style being more naturalistic and unrestrained. “I try to look more directly at the landscape without that picturesque lens,” explains George. “I think it allows a different kind of visual effect, which relates to the modern idea of minimalist sculpture, where you get large-scale repeat effects of pure geometry, which I like.” For Silverstone Farm, this has entailed creating structure, initially in the form of walls and piers built on either side of the house, to both frame it and connect it to the landscape. This was followed by the planting and gradual maturing of hedges and topiary, which have created a series of enclosures, focal points and vistas.