Gertrude Jekyll

Gertrude Jekyll (1843 – 1932) was a British horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer, and artist. She was a key figure in the Arts and Crafts movement. Jekyll’s style was characterised by her painterly approach to garden design, with a particular emphasis on colour and texture. She was known for her “hardy flower borders” and her work is recognised for its radiant colour and the brush-like strokes of her plantings. Some suggest that her Impressionistic-style schemes may have been due to her deteriorating eyesight, which largely put an end to her career as a painter and watercolourist. Her techniques included the use of colour theory, influenced by painter J. M. W. Turner and by Impressionism, and she was one of the first in her profession to consider the colour, texture, and experience of gardens as aspects of her designs.