Traditional Garden Design

Classic designs that pass the test of time...

Traditional gardens are a more casual reflection of landscape character and can range from a purely ornamental garden filled with floral borders, to a garden containing a mixture of ornamental and edible plants.   Traditional gardens grew in popularity in the late 19th century in response to the grand formality of the English estate gardens of that era.  More formal gardens of that time depended on sweeping vistas, huge landscapes and masses of bold coloured planted to create a visual impact on a massive scale.  Traditional gardens, sometimes called ‘cottage’ gardens, brought garden design back to the everyday household, where aesthetics mixed with a more practical, and smaller scale use of garden space.  These traditional gardens started out as a mixture of edible and ornamental planting, but as time passed the ornamental plants slowly became more dominant in the garden as production of one’s own food became less necessary.  Aesthetics began to influence these smaller scale gardens and more traditional materials were used for hard landscaping, creating smaller, more intimate spaces with a charm suited for more everyday use.

Current day gardens in the ‘traditional style’, still utilize traditional and often locally sourced materials, dense planting and usually require more care to maintain the desired appearance.   Flower can be chosen to reflect local landscape character and careful layout of borders and beds can yield year round beauty in the garden.

ELD has an extensive horticultural and botanical knowledge base, which combined with our keen eye for design and detail, allows us to create traditional garden designs with lasting beauty and timeless style.

We undertake work throughout East Anglia including the counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire. Work further afield may also be considered. Traditional Garden Design - contact us to discuss your requirements.