Victorian Landscaping Ideas

Create a Lush Backdrop

• The first thing you see when approaching a Victorian garden is the diversity of colors and textures. Establish this first impression with tall trees, climbing plants and a lawn that begs to be touched. Seed the lawn with a fine-blade grass. Rolled grass works well if your lawn is new, otherwise fill in any bare patches with grass seed. Once the grass grows in, maintain the lawn with regular mowing for the neat, edged look the Victorians favored.

Establish Entertaining Areas

• Victorians used outdoor sitting areas as parlors for tea parties and casual gatherings. Furnish seating and pathways with a few garden ornaments. You can often find Victorian birdbaths, fountains, gazing balls, iron lanterns and sun dials at architectural reclamation and salvage yards.

  Gazebos were also typical on Victorian estates, so you can install one if your yard is large enough. Border of your sitting area with trees to provide shade and privacy. Cover outdoor walls with growth. Ivy or clematis will climb sheds, high fences and porch roofs to maximize privacy and give your outdoor area a rich, green backdrop.

Bold Visuals

• Victorians filled their gardens a with a wide variety of flowers. Create a rose garden with support strong systems. Historic images from the book "Victorian Gardens" by Anne Jennings show that Victorians included as many flowers as they could in a single garden. Consider framing your rose garden with an arched trellis and plant climbing roses at the base. Plant flower beds along walkways with classic Victorian flowers like tulips, snapdragons and pansies. Always inventive, Victorians took their gardens a step further by planting flowers in patterns to create an image like a clock or a wedge.

  Create privacy for the porch area, frame the property line and conceal the home's foundation by planting flowering shrubs. Put up a cast-iron fence with a gate to put a finishing touch on your Victorian-style yard. If you prefer to hide the fence with shrubs, go for a wood or picket fence as the Victorians did.