In this article

Timeline Modern style of gardening

Modern characters Modern themes

The second half of the 20th century provided a wealth of opportunity and new achievements. Horticulturists hit great heights, creating new design styles for both landowners and the general public.

After the war, there was a new era of rebuilding the damaged landscape. The 1951 Festival of Britain was a showcase for the new styles and ideas. Modernism became popular, blending urban, public places and new housing estates with the older, more naturalistic form of gardening. Modernism used abstract shapes, concrete, glass and low-maintenance plants.

There was a move away from European gardening styles and influence came from across the Atlantic ocean. The American Thomas Church was considered to be the founding father of urban garden style. He advocated the idea of the outside room which was popularized in the UK by John Brookes.

More plants became commercially available to all gardeners with new varieties and cultivars evolving every day. There were effective labour-saving inventions such as the hover mower and the growing bag.

Outdoor living

The popularity of outdoor entertaining grew during the 1970s. Barbecues became popular too as families combined cooking with dining outside.

A whole range of landscaping materials became available to the British public. Pre-cast concrete meant that patio slabs were readily available from the garden centre. Patios were de rigueur, offering a place to sit, sunbathe or show off features such as hanging baskets, planters and alpine troughs.

Decking became hugely popular in the 1990s, thanks largely to the TV programme Ground Force, and Alan Titchmarsh. Decking was the answer to the public's wish for an instant garden used cheap materials and simple construction methods.

Garden centres

During the later part of the 20th century, gardening became the nation's most popular outside pursuit. With increased wealth and prosperity, and higher percentage of home ownership, people had the money and leisure time to indulge their horticultural passions at weekends at the local garden centre.

Garden centres no longer sold only plants, they became places to buy garden furniture, water features and ornaments, garden tools, hard landscaping material and garden and leisure books. Some garden centres now even have restaurants and display gardens for the customers to relax in.