Even before the Victorian Era, in the late 18th century, England already had an edge over the rest of Europe in the area of gardening (Huxley, Griffiths, Levy, 1992). Because England had developed a sizeable middle class more quickly during the industrial revolution, and many people from this class were now settling into more healthy lifestyles (and with a bit more spare time than at the outset of the industrial revolution), owning and maintaining small cottage gardens and home gardens became increasingly popular throughout England. In the cities people grew plants in window boxes, and attention was given to making parks attractive with flower gardens and trees (Huxley, Griffiths, Levy, 1992). By contrast, gardening throughout the rest of Europe was mostly restricted to the royalty and wealthy landowners, since the middle class was generally slower to develop and not quite as well off.
A couple important technological advances resulting from the industrial revolution were important to the development of gardening in England.
The invention of the wrought iron glazing bar in 1816 made construction of the glasshouse possible (Huxley, Griffiths, Levy, 1992). Wealthy English families purchased private glasshouses to create living areas which would allow in plenty of light but protect them from the nasty weather. As more plants became available from abroad, people began to fill their glasshouses with exotic plants and even create separate buildings, detached conservatories, for the purpose of collecting and housing plants (Huxley, Griffiths, Levy, 1992). Initially this hobby was restricted to plants in conservatories, but some people began to try growing some of them outdoors, sometimes with surprising results.
The technology of the industrial revolution also fueled British imperialism. Better steamships and more efficient military equipment stimulated the growth of Britain's worldwide empire. Without some of these advances, Britain could not have been so successful in economically exploiting such places as South Africa, the Orient and especially India. The role of British imperialism in the development of subtropical gardening is less obvious but extremely great. If England had not colonized so many regions of the world, they probably would not have been aware of all the interesting plants from these regions at all (Amherst, 1896). The English, with their passion for gardening, began to establish large gardens in the colonies using the tropical plants native to the region. Interestingly, there is little evidence of ornamental gardening in the tropics prior to the arrival of the Europeans (Huxley, Griffiths, Levy, 1992). The famous gardens of various tropical cities throughout the world such as Singapore, Calcutta, Hong Kong and Durban were not established until Europe's imperialistic era in the late 18th and 19th centuries (Huxley, Griffiths, Levy, 1992).
The Victorian Era brought great prosperity to Britain's economy and Britain's empire worldwide. The booming middle class was becoming increasingly wealthy, and many people had nowhere else to go but on holiday or on business ventures in Britain's colonies. People were inspired by holidays abroad, and brought back with them a desire to create a similar paradise in the cool foggy climate of England (Huxley, Griffiths, Levy, 1992).
Thus was born the subtropical garden. During the 1860s, people began to tire of flower gardens which would only put on show for the nicer months of the year. They became interested in plants that would remain attractive all winter, and also focused more towards plants with attractive foliage rather than flowers. "Bamboos and Pampas grass also became popular at this time" (Huxley, Griffiths, Levy, 1992). Also becoming increasingly popular were French and Italian elements incorporated into English gardens (Huxley, Griffiths, Levy, 1992). The English would also take holidays on the Mediterranean and return influenced by the gardens of these regions.
William Robinson was the first author to popularize subtropical gardening throughout England. In 1871 “ . . .the Young William Robinson Published a book on The Subtropical Garden, explaining how its effects could be achieved with hardy plants alone" (Huxley, Griffiths, Levy, 1992). "His early books . . .were evidence of a very prominent style of gardening in the period from 1870 to the start of the First World War in 1914: subtropical gardening" (Reynolds, 2001). It seems that he also coined the phrase "subtropical gardening," however technically correct it may or may not be.
By the late 19th century, the British no longer merely waited passively for plants to arrive from travelers abroad. The driving passion to obtain more new plant material and the wealth to pay for them allowed a much wider variety of exotic plants to find their way into English gardens. The formation of the Royal Horticultural Society provided a funding base for sending out collectors to remote corners of the Earth specifically for the purposes of bringing back more interesting "new" plants. Such people included Sir William Hooker and Robert Fortune, after whom many cultivated plants are named today (Amherst, 1896).
With an even broader array of exotic plants to choose from, the possibilities in subtropical gardening were seemingly endless (Amherst, 1896). "Victorian England had a fascination for plants that has never been equaled. Great landowners paid large amounts of money for the latest in rare plants and built large conservatories in which to house the more tender" (Reynolds, 2001). Subtropical gardens sprung up all over the milder parts of Britain, particularly in the south and west, as subtropical gardening continued to boom in popularity. "Another form of wild garden contains only subtropical plants. The bamboo, first discovered to be hardy by Lord de Saumarez at Shrublands, the yucca, tamarix, acanthus, and certain palms can be cultivated even in the more northern English counties, while in parts of Cornwall, camellias, and other plants of an almost tropical appearance, flourish in the open air" (Nichols, 1925).
"Parts of Cornwall are so mild that many things will do well there which are considered as green-house plants in other parts of England. There are in that county some gardens which would astonish gardeners from less favoured districts. Pengerrick, Menabilly, Heligan, Tregothnan, Carclew are among the finest of these Cornish gardens" (Amherst, 1896). (This statement is followed by a list of plants featured in these gardens that includes some which are hardy throughout the British Isles and some that are not. Apparently many exotic plants were initially assumed to be more tender than they have more recently proven.) A few subtropical gardens were also established in southwest Ireland (e. g., Rossdohan) and Scotland (e. g., Logan Botanical Gardens).
Tresco Abbey Gardens on Scilly must also be mentioned (Nelhams, 2000). "Twenty-eight miles southwest of Land's End in Cornwall England in the clear blue Atlantic . . .the beautiful Scilly Isles exude a timeless peace and natural tranquility . . .the Tresco Abbey Gardens have been developed on the site of a Benedictine Abbey dating back to between 1042 and 1066. Development of the Abbey gardens began in 1834 and by 1872 was one of the most remarkable Victorian gardens in Britain. The plants that flourish on Tresco and in the Scillys in general include many that are too tender for most of us to even consider attempting" (McGinn, 2000).
"If it was difficult to give a garden a formal design, it could easily be given an exotic planting." Arboreta and collection gardens now began to be grouped by the region where the plants were native. A renewed interest in the flora of China and Japan also occurred during this time, partly as a consequence of Britain's imperialistic influence in China (Huxley, Griffiths, Levy, 1992).
So subtropical gardening enjoyed a time of great popularity in Britain that has remained unequalled anywhere in the world to this day.
