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Page 1 of 2 In this day and age of instant gardening and TV transformations in a weekend, it is hard to imagine that English landscape designers of the 18th century set out to create something that would take many years to achieve their desired effect, says Penny Kitchen.
Yet these men (who incidentally became as famous in their day as today's celebrity gardeners) were revolutionaries, creating a romantic environment that was intended to stimulate the senses and emotions of all who saw it.
After the formality and hard lines that had been the fashion in European garden design (Versailles being a good example), these landscapes were all curves and 'natural' planting in a 'natural' setting - but of course nothing in these gardens was natural at all. Trees opened up to give carefully planned glimpses of classical temples, rustic bridges, follies or monuments. Everything was meticulously contrived to give a sense of informality and natural beauty. Visitors would have been educated in the classics and so would have understood any allusions the designers intended.
 The Ruined Abbey at Painshill
In 1749 he became a consulting gardener and created many of the most important gardens of the 18th century, including Petworth, Kew and Blenheim Palace. Along with Kent, Charles Bridgeman and Sir John Vanbrugh he was involved in the creation and development of Claremont, near Esher, one of the first and finest gardens of the English Landscape style.
Brown's trademark was gently undulating lawns with views between various-sized clumps of trees of a body of water in the middle-distance - a landscape seen as desolate by some of his critics.
Although 'Capability' Brown is known to every schoolchild (he earned his nickname by telling clients that their properties had 'capabilities', when he meant potential), another man also deserves to be remembered. The Hon Charles Hamilton, ninth son of the Earl of Abercorn, spent his lifetime and all his money creating his Pleasure Gardens at Painshill, Cobham. He had no need of a designer, however: he did it all himself and this probably accounts for his eclectic mix of themes and architectural styles.
As a garden lover I am fortunate to live near both Claremont Landscape Garden and Painshill Park. They have featured regularly in our lives, at all seasons, as have the RHS Gardens at Wisley. Each one makes a wonderful day out the next time you are in Surrey.
Painshill Park, Cobham, SurreyOur local council, Elmbridge, announced in 1980 that they were going to buy the 158 acres of Hamilton's original estate between the A3 and the River Mole, and set up a charitable trust to restore the landscape and its follies. Local residents were invited to don wellies and go around the estate with a member of the Trust to get some idea of the immensity of the job that faced them. It was so overgrown that only the wildest imagination could have pictured it as it was - or indeed, how it is today.
Two different routes (Lakeside or Historic) guide the visitor through the peace and tranquillity of the park where magnificent trees and surprise features are around every bend. And what surprises they are! They include a colourful Turkish tent perched on a hill, a mysterious 'other-worldly' grotto on an island, a ruined abbey, a Chinese bridge, a water wheel and a Gothic fairytale tower that looms out of the woodland and is visible from the A3.
You can entertain the children with the tale of Hamilton's hermit who was to be paid £700 if he could last for seven years in his Spartan hermitage, without cutting his nails or hair and without speaking to anyone. It is said that he lasted three weeks before turning up in a Cobham hostelry!
Following the path round the lake, walkers come upon each surprise just as Hamilton intended two centuries ago. The first vista to open up across the lake is the vineyard that flourished for over 40 years, until 1790, producing such good sparkling white wine that the French ambassador thought it was champagne. Today, Painshill once more produces white, sparkling and rosé wines, which are on sale in the shop.
Beside the vineyard, and dreamily reflected in the water of the lake, is the ruined abbey, the last folly to be built by Hamilton which he constructed to hide his brick and tile works (used in the various building projects on the estate). Another gothic structure is the temple, from which it is possible to see most of the garden stretched out below. Today it is a favourite spot for wedding photographs - and no wonder, its romantic setting and stunning view of the park would be hard to beat.
No landscape garden of the day was complete without a grotto and at Painshill, Hamilton wanted the best. Built across two islands, and approached by the Chinese bridge, a narrow path leads into a mysterious stalactite corridor where reflections from the moving water beneath cast strange lights on the crystal-covered walls. Turn a corner and suddenly you enter the atmospheric main chamber.
This is gradually being restored to its former glory as the Trust's funds permit, but finished or not, you can appreciate the masterpiece it once was. Visitors to the grotto must be accompanied by one of Painshill's volunteer guides, so phone ahead to make sure one will be available. At Christmas children are in for a double treat when the grotto is 'lent' to Santa for the weekends leading up to 25 December.
When I visited one sunny November day, Painshill Park was serenely beautiful: at the height of the autumn colour, it is spectacular. Hamilton was particularly fond of North American trees, many giant examples of which are still standing and the restoration of the gardens have included replanting his wide collection of shrubs and evergreens.
Painshill Park, Portsmouth Road, Cobham, tel: 01932 868113 or visit www.painshill.co.uk Admission adults £6; children age 5-16 £3.50. The Park is open April to October 10.30-6pm, closed Monday; November - March 11am-4pm or dusk, closed Monday and Tuesday.
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