1712

The first person to write of “making” a landscape was Joseph Addison in a series of essays entitled “On the Pleasures of the Imagination”

 

​​

“Pleasures of the Imagination” is to harness the imagination to improve society. He defines the imagination as a sort of effortless contemplation, an immediate “assent to the beauty of an object” (482). Such pleasures do not require wealth or education to access, Joseph Addison points out.

​​

joseph-addison-2
joseph-addison-3
joseph-addison-4
joseph-addison-5

1800

The history of landscape architecture, formally landscape gardening, is largely that of master planning and garden design for manor houses, palaces and royal properties, religious complexes, and centers of government. 

Palace of Versailles

An example is the extensive work by André Le Nôtre for King Louis XIV of France at the Palace of Versailles

Palace of Versailles

An example is the extensive work by André Le Nôtre for King Louis XIV of France at the Palace of Versailles

1828

The name “landscape architecture” was invented by Gilbert Laing Meason.Gilbert Laing Meason of Lindertis FRSE FSA was a Scottish merchant and agricultural improver, best remembered as the originator of the term landscape architecture.

Gilbert-Laing-Meason
Gilbert-Laing-Meason-2

1857

Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition for Central Park, NY

1857

"Greensward Plan". Construction began the same year.

Frederick-Law Olmsted-
Frederick-Law Olmsted-2
Frederick-Law Olmsted-3
Frederick-Law Olmsted-5
Frederick-Law Olmsted-4

1878-1896

Throughout almost twenty years of work on the Emerald Necklace (Boston), Frederick Law Olmsted created special retreats — places for both active and passive recreation; green and open spaces offering relief and refreshment from the pressures and tensions of everyday life.

1885 – 1966

William Lyman Phillips the man largely responsible for popularizing Florida’s exotic landscape. William Lyman Phillips played a seminal role in the landscaping of Florida and the history of landscape architecture designing the world-famous Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami (begun in 1938) as well as hundreds of other sites. William Lyman Phillips has been called the Pioneer of Tropical Landscape Architecture.

William Lyman Phillips II
William Lyman Phillips

1938

The world-famous Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami designed by William Lyman Phillips.