Recognized as one of the most admired and accomplished English Landscape Architects of the Twentieth Century, Miss Gertrude Jekyll, was also an accomplished artist, writer and craftswoman. Miss Jekyll was born in London in 1843 and spent most of her childhood in the countryside. When she was younger, she lived at Bramley Park in Surrey--the family home until 1868. Miss Jekyll was brought up with a fairly wealthy way of life, consisting of a well rounded and liberal education. She studied painting at Kensington School of Art starting in 1861. Miss Jekyll had many opportunities to travel and study abroad--the many famous gardens of Europe played a great influence in her art and garden design--but much of her passion was for the country lifestyle she established in Surrey. She writes:"I have learnt much from the little cottage gardens that help to make our English waysides the prettiest in the temperate world. One can hardly go into the smallest cottage garden with out learning or observing something new (Making..., pg. 17)."
While studying art, particularly color theory, she was influenced by William Morris, the founder of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Company. Morris introduced a "purist" artistic style that was displayed in paintings, weaving, dying, engraving, poetry and other crafts. Morris's brainchild was the Arts and Crafts Movement, which Miss Jekyll whole heartedly participated. The philosophy behind the Arts and Crafts Movement was a soul-driven creative process. The Arts and Crafts Movement became Miss Jekyll's way of life. She began designing embroidery patterns and tapestries. She constructed metalwork and wood carvings. She was an avid painter and, later, photographer. Many of the photographs captured the essence of her garden designs. Much of her work was considered at the time hobby rather than career work due to her status as a "Lady." Miss Jekyll was not often commissioned for her crafts and artwork because it was not common practice to recognize a Lady a professional artist.
Undoubtedly, Miss Jekyll's most significant and constant practice was gardening. Miss Jekyll's bought with myopia created and obstacle in her art career. On the other hand, her myopia might have contributed to her unique gardening style. Since much of what she could appreciate would be more textured, detailed, bright colored--not to mention requiring the use of other senses--she used many different color schemes, and fragrant, textured plants--becoming her gardening trademark.
"Throughout my life I have found that one of the things most worth doing was to cultivate the habit of close observation...And I know from my own case that the will and the power to observe does not depend on the possession of keen sight. For I have sight that is both painful and inadequate...As if by way of compensation I have very keen hearing, and when I hear a little rusting rush in the grass and heath, or the dead leaves under the trees, I can tell whether it is snake of lizard, mouse or bird....Nearly all trees in the gentle wind have a pleasant sound....As for the matter of color, what may be observed, is simply without end....There is a class of scent that, though it can be neither be called sweet nor aromatic, is decidedly pleasant and interesting. Such is that of bracken and other fern-fronds...Among roses alone, the variety and degree of sweet scent seems almost infinite (Making..., pgs. 59,61)."
Miss Jekyll was a pioneer and inspiration to many women gardeners to follow.
Much of her professional gardening career took off after meeting William Robins in 1875. Robins was the editor of The Garden , and a well known critic of gardening techniques. Miss Jekyll became a constant contributor to The Garden, highlighting her knowledge of color, wild and hardy flower gardens. She made contributions to Robinson's book, The English Flower Garden, published in 1883. In her contributions to both The Garden and The English Flower Garden, she often wrote about the hybridization of art and horticulture. In the years to follow, Miss Jekyll wrote her own published works, including Wood and Garden, Roses for English Gardens, Old West Surrey, and Children and Gardens , to mention a few. Her writings were the indication of her passion and admiration for all things "beautiful," particularly in horticulture.
Miss Jekyll had advised in the layout and planting of approximately 350 gardens. Her designs were influenced by the French and Italian styles she observed while traveling and studying classic European gardens. Terrace work, stone steps, pools and rills were all classic European elements incorporated into her own garden designs. Miss Jekyll also took a liking to cottage house and small country gardens as well. These smaller gardens allowed for her to concentrate on more details of the layout.
"Nothing is a better lesson in the knowledge of plants than to sit down in front of them and look them over just as carefully as possible; and in no way can such study be more pleasantly or conveniently carried on than by taking a light seat to the rock-wall and giving plenty of time to each kind of little plant, examining it closely and asking oneself, and it, why this and why that? (Making..., pg. 46)"
She was well known for her "herbaceous borders" and titled as a "woodland" gardener, rather than a "landscape architect." In the fall of 1878, Miss Jekyll made her permanent home Munstead House. The gardens of Munstead became her first well-known gardening project. Munstead became the heart of constant experimentation with style, color and texture. Her most noted projects were Munstead Wood , Sandbourne, Hestercombe, Upton Grey and Folly Farm.
Over 120 gardens were part of collaborative projects with approximately 50 architects. In 1889, Miss Jekyll met young architect Edwin Lutyens. Lutyens's architectural style relied on traditional craftsmanship, with specific attention to detail. Following their first meeting, Lutyens and Miss Jekyll became good friends--offering each other support and creative advice. They collaborated on over 100 gardens; their partnership began with Munstead Wood. Jane Brown, author of Gardens of a Golden Afternoon, writes, "Many of the commissions were just part of a garden, for a particular feature which displayed her special artistry, such as a border, a rock garden or a water garden." Miss Jekyll had helped Lutyens's career prosper. One of their most popular collaborative efforts was Hestercombe in Somerset. Although the Lutyens and Jekyll team were popular and in demand, the War had reduced their work together more to support and consultation. By the mid-1920's Edwin Lutyens was at the height of his career and much of his interaction with Miss Jekyll was through letters. Her career had slowed down significantly.
Miss Jekyll's myopia had worsened and effected her daily routine. On December 8 in 1932, Gertrude Jekyll died peacefully. Edwin Lutyens designed for his friend a monument in honor of her and the Jekyll family. Portion of the inscription of the monument states truly Lutyens treasured design: "...Their memorial is the beauty which lives after them...." (Gertrude Jekyll, pg. 265)
Gertrude Jekyll was one of the few women that had been so accomplished for her time. She set the standard for women Landscape Architects in England to follow. Miss Jekyll displayed a passion and knowledge for art and gardening that both admirers and critics could not deny. Her essence remains in the recent restoration of her gardens at both Munstead and Hestercombe--where her style and impression can be appreciated for many years to come.