What was the shared profession of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown and Gertrude Jekyll?
Landscape architecture and garden design have a rich history in the UK, evolving from formal, structured gardens to more naturalistic styles. Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, who lived in the 18th century, was a pioneer of this naturalistic approach. He earned his nickname because he would tell landowners that their estates had great "capability" for improvement. He transformed many estates, creating rolling hills, artificial lakes, and strategically placed trees. Gertrude Jekyll, a hugely influential figure in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, built upon this tradition. She was known for her vibrant, colourful planting schemes and her focus on the artistic arrangement of plants within gardens. While their styles differed somewhat – Brown favoring grand landscapes and Jekyll focusing on detailed planting – both were fundamentally garden designers. This makes 'garden designers' the correct shared profession. Carpenters work with wood, and while Sherlock Holmes is a famous fictional character, neither Brown nor Jekyll were characters in the stories.
Picture Brown and Jekyll, with their green thumbs, shaping landscapes into works of art.