 |
| In the Ruin Garden at Chanticleer |
Attribute it to zeitgeist I suppose.
A few days back I was browsing my collected photos of Chanticleer, the extraordinary garden just outside Philadelphia, searching for images for a writing assignment. As I looked at some of the garden's highly stylized plantings, I suddenly realized that I was seeing something closely akin to Victorian ornamental plantings. Strange, because I'd visited Chanticleer for several years and never before thought of anything there as Victorian.
I certainly don't intend to say the Chanticleer gardeners are trying to recreate those garish, geometric plantings that--except within certain circles--have been very out of fashion for a century. No, in this case the plantings are highly innovative, creative uses of new materials in unusual ways.
Take the Ruin garden, for example. In the main room of the Ruin (above), at the end of the sarcophagus-like dining table, which is also a fountain and a mirror, is a vegetative mantle piece, shown much more clearly ...
... in this image. What fun! And what a magnificent creation. I took this photo in the summer of 2010. Now look at the same planting ...
... in the summer of 2011. Clearly the same base, but with a few deletions and additions.
Okay, just for the heck of it--though I'm not sure what this does for my neo-Victorian thesis--here's the 2012 version from last April. Very different, so I'm wondering if the earlier designs were returned for warmer weather. I plan to go next week so I'll find out then.
You're probably not convinced yet. So take a look at some other plantings at Chanticleer.
Here in the Tea Cup Garden palms are mixed with geometrically bedded out succulents in what has to be called a neo-Victorian style.
And look at this bedding scheme ... convinced yet? This is a far cry from boring Victorian plantings, but the striking blue of the fescue, the orange poppies, the unexpected fig tree all conspire to create an immediately accessible visual excitement that recalls something of the "show-off" quality of Victorian bedding schemes. Here the designer is pushing the boundaries of taste and achieving not the garish, tired look we've come to associate with Victorian gardens, but something entirely new, true artistry ...
... so too the artistry of this amazing container planting of (I believe) a purple leaved brassica, variegated sage, ranunculus, and sticks.
The fountain in the Tea Cup garden again (in yet another year). The orange motif is a recurrent visual theme.
One thing these Chanticleer plantings are not is staid. This is a garden full of joy, delight, a garden with a sense of humor. The gardeners of Chanticleer are playing with an old tradition, making it fun and giving it new life.
In you're interested in exploring the neo-Victorian phenomena, a good place to start is Wikipedia, or one of the Steampunk sites.
(Chanticleer offers much that has nothing to do with the neo-Victorian. More on other aspects of this major American garden in another post.)
That's so funny...I don't know if I would have ever made the Victorian connection, but looking at your examples, I think you're right!
ReplyDeleteJust my point. I've seen some of these pictures, and the original plantings, for several years. Only recently did I make a connection with Victorian. Then I guessed at "neo-Victorian" as a term and searched for it. Surprise. I have wondered for several years why I've been seeing elaborate composed plantings, particularly mixtures of succulents and tender plants used outdoors where they can't possibly survive a winter. It seems we absorb these influences unawares. Likewise, I'd never even heard of the term "steampunk," but once I looked at some steampumk images, I knew exactly what it was about, and I can now recall seeing "steampunk" images, movies (e.g., "Brazil"), novels, etc.
DeleteI definitely prefer this Chanticleer take on Victorian to the usual perception-of-Victorian! I'm convinced...thanks for the imagery and thoughts on it all.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if anyone at Chanticleer would accept the label neo-Victorian to describe some isolated plantings there, but I do think that's what we're seeing. Is this some reaction to the relaxed naturalistic plantings of designers like Piet Oudolf, or just part of the continual search for something new? It's certainly a way of claiming something meaningful and useful from the past.
DeleteI'm hoping to visit this garden next year. I've wanted to see it for a long time.
ReplyDeleteI suggest a mid-summer visit if possible. That's my favorite time, though I'm fortunate to be close enough to visit several times a year.
DeleteHi James!
ReplyDeleteI think you might be right about the style. When I saw your pictures, I thought of William Morris. Maybe because of the fine/dense detail and the "off" colors? I love that you can show us the same plantings from year to year!
--Emily
Emily,
DeleteYes, I have other photos that would probably recall William Morris even more strongly. Good to hear from you. I almost friended an Emily on facebook, but I wasn't sure it was you.
You are spot on! It is definitely Victorian at heart. I think we as a culture are a bit too dismissive of the Victorian contribution to culture. We use the word to mean decorative or a type of ornamentation, but the Victorian era was probably the greatest flourishing of horticultural knowledge of any time in history. The average person in the Victorian era knew more about plants than most of our experts do today. As a culture we've lost a significant amount of shared horticultural knowledge since the Victorian era.
ReplyDeleteSo Chanticleer's smart, modern reinterpretations of a Victorianism are a delightful homage to one of our most important garden epochs.
Thank you for your confident confirmation of the "Victorian connection" at Chanticleer. I have to say the Chanticleer plantings made me realize the value of a kind of design I've always had an aversion to. What an optimistic look at the past--what a revelation.
ReplyDeleteI've had an aversion to pretty much all things Victorian, mostly because of what I believed were their judgmental, moralistic attitudes. But for most of my adult life, I lived in a Victorian era brownstone in Brooklyn, and quietly thought quite a lot about who were the people who built and lived in such houses (brownstones were designed for lives structured in very specific ways). This makes me want to read more about the period, particularly their approach to horticulture and gardening, and to better understand what William Robinson was reacting to. I'm sure the story is much more complex than I've thought.
Yes, James, there's a Victorian idea twisted around a bit, to my eyes. The Victorians, though remembered for dour regimentation and too, too much jam-packed into rows, should also be known for their discoveries, experimentation, knowledge, and ardour.
ReplyDeleteFaisal, I wonder if you will be shocked to hear I consider you a new-Victorian. Your compositions remind me very much of some of the new-Victorian images I've seen, even some of the "steampunk" images--the subdued colors, the natural objects, the "old" items of technology, assemblages of personal, "secret" images...
ReplyDeleteI certainly don't feel the past, present and future are distinct from one another. I feel very touched by your compliment, James.
DeleteI think the Victorians loved the extravagant plant or combination of plants, and all the pictures above show the same appreciation.
ReplyDeleteI just posted some photos of the White House north entrance around the turn of the 19th century, if you want to see the real thing. I would love to see the Chanticleer designers do the W.H.
I was thinking about your post on the changes in the White House landscaping--I even had entertained inserting a link to your post for reference to actual period plantings, so I'm pleased you bring it up. I think the historical photos you used are really enlightening. Wish we could see them in color. If anyone is interested, please see Cindy's link above, or look it up at: http://enclosuretakerefuge.com/2012/07/20/vintage-landscape-the-fountain/
DeleteDifficult one.
ReplyDeleteI always think of victorians as collectors. Great collectors at that. Design wise, I'm not sure what qualifies as Victorian bar hideous carpet bedding, which is unfair. I guess the geometry and sense of order could equal victorian, but looking at the tea cup garden, if you'd said make the Edwardian connection, then I probably have.
Beautiful place.
Rob, you make a good point. I suppose I'm referring to the Victorian penchant for the highly decorative plant or planting, almost excessive, emphasizing the decorative over other aspects of the plant, its other attributes, and environment. I think in the US we tend to conflate the Victorian with the Edwardian because we were (and are) more distanced from it (across the pond and all that). The two eras tend to blend together for me. Even Wikipedia says, "Neo-Victorian is an aesthetic movement which amalgamates Victorian and Edwardian aesthetic sensibilities with modern principles and technologies." But obviously they are two different periods.
ReplyDeleteThe Ruin Garden is genius, and one of my favorite places. I know Chanticleer closes in the winter, and it is probably so the staff can enjoy the snow dusted Ruin all to themselves.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to choose which garden at Chanticleer is a favorite, but I think I'd probably choose the Ruin Garden. For one thing, it's setting on a hilltop is magnificent. And on a hot, humid day, like the day I visited last weekend, you are likely to catch a breeze. Snow would be nice too.
ReplyDelete