The
English landscape garden, also called
English landscape park or simply the
English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "
landscape" garden which emerged in
England in the early 18th century, and spread across
Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical
jardin à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The English garden presented an idealized view of nature. It drew inspiration from paintings of landscapes by
Claude Lorraine and
Nicolas Poussin, and, in the Anglo-Chinese garden, from the classic
Chinese gardens of the East, which had recently been described by European travellers. The English garden usually included a lake, sweeps of gently rolling lawns set against groves of trees, and recreations of classical temples, Gothic ruins, bridges, and other picturesque architecture, designed to recreate an idyllic pastoral landscape. The work of
Lancelot "Capability" Brown was particularly influential. By the end of the 18th century the English garden was being imitated by the
French landscape garden, and as far away as St. Petersburg, Russia, in
Pavlovsk, the gardens of the future
Emperor Paul. It also had a major influence on the form of the
public parks and gardens which appeared around the world in the 19th century.