English country gardens are a delightful source of inspiration in British art. From as early as the middle ages, there is a rich heritage of English country garden painting. They were especially popular in the Victorian era, particularly watercolours. British artists, such as Earnest Arthur Rowe and Helen Allingham, created beautiful watercolour paintings recording Victorian English country gardens.
Country Gardens in the Gallery’s Collection
In the Goldcrest Gallery greeting card collection, we have a rich theme of country garden designs, which are always popular. ‘Laverstoke‘ shows a country garden in early springtime, with climbing roses beginning to bud and apple blossom on the trees. Daffodils and tulips line the pathway leading to a well. The Arts & Crafts movement of the Victorian period idealised the rural cottage gardens of farm workers. So the gardens in ‘Laverstoke’ extend in front of these cottages. Originally, a mixture of flowers and vegetables grew together in these simple but picturesque country gardens.
In ‘Country Cottage‘, a rural garden surrounds a Victorian lodge. Flowering shrubs, such as forsythia, grow alongside fruit trees, while primroses and celandines grow beside the fence. ‘Thatched Cottage‘ again shows a traditional country garden laid out in front of the house, with delphiniums, lavender and climbing roses.
Garden Flowers
As well as general views of country gardens, many of our card designs focus on garden flowers. ‘Watercolour Garden’ shows lupins blooming, while ‘Pink Double Roses‘ is a classic photographic portrait of a garden favourite. Alongside these, the Little Notes sets also depict garden flowers. ‘Among the Flowers‘ and ‘In the Garden‘ have stylised floral designs based on garden flowers such as tulips, zinnias, stocks and love-in-a-mist. Our latest canvas print, ‘Cotton Lawn’, has the appeal of a pretty country garden with a little striped lawn. In this example, the artist has designed tiny flower motifs reminiscent of small garden flowers, such as daisies and violets.
This timeless country garden theme runs through designs dating from the 1970s to the present day in our collection. View our selected ‘Gardens Edit‘ for a range of country garden designs, or choose from our full gallery selection and send a lovely greeting card, Little Notes set or print to delight friends and family!