JEKYLL 9 | The Painterly Gardener
Gertrude Jekyll’s early career as a painter, particularly her love of Impressionism, greatly influenced her approach to garden design. In the late 19th century, the Impressionist movement revolutionised the way colour was understood and applied. Artists including Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted scenes which captured light, shadow, and the changing effects of colour rather than focusing on accurate, realistic colours.
Having an interest in art and closely following contemporary trends, Jekyll was particularly drawn to the way these artists applied colour. She was especially drawn to the paintings of J.M.W. Turner, whose use of light and vibrant colour to create drama deeply resonated with her. Turner’s ability to capture the fleeting effects of light and colour in the landscape inspired Jekyll to think about her gardens not as static, fixed spaces, but as dynamic, ever-changing works of art.
Jekyll applied the same fluidity of colour and light that she admired in Impressionist painting to her planting schemes, blending colours in such a way that they seemed to shift and interact with the seasons. To create a sense of light and shade in her planting designs, she frequently combined blue and yellow flowers, or contrasted cool blue flowers and grey leaves with bright reds and oranges.
As Jekyll’s eyesight began to deteriorate in her later years, her vision became increasingly blurred, forcing her to see plants and flowers as abstract patches of colour rather than distinct forms. This shift mirrored the artistic qualities she had long admired in the work of the Impressionists, where individual brushstrokes and blurred shapes come together to create a unified whole. Jekyll’s failing eyesight led her to embrace a more impressionistic approach to garden design, where the overall effect of colour and light took precedence over the individual details.
JEKYLL 9 | The Painterly Gardener
Gertrude Jekyll’s early career as a painter, particularly her love of Impressionism, greatly influenced her approach to garden design. In the late 19th century, the Impressionist movement revolutionised the way colour was understood and applied. Artists including Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted scenes which captured light, shadow, and the changing effects of colour rather than focusing on accurate, realistic colours.
Having an interest in art and closely following contemporary trends, Jekyll was particularly drawn to the way these artists applied colour. She was especially drawn to the paintings of J.M.W. Turner, whose use of light and vibrant colour to create drama deeply resonated with her. Turner’s ability to capture the fleeting effects of light and colour in the landscape inspired Jekyll to think about her gardens not as static, fixed spaces, but as dynamic, ever-changing works of art.
Jekyll applied the same fluidity of colour and light that she admired in Impressionist painting to her planting schemes, blending colours in such a way that they seemed to shift and interact with the seasons. To create a sense of light and shade in her planting designs, she frequently combined blue and yellow flowers, or contrasted cool blue flowers and grey leaves with bright reds and oranges.
As Jekyll’s eyesight began to deteriorate in her later years, her vision became increasingly blurred, forcing her to see plants and flowers as abstract patches of colour rather than distinct forms. This shift mirrored the artistic qualities she had long admired in the work of the Impressionists, where individual brushstrokes and blurred shapes come together to create a unified whole. Jekyll’s failing eyesight led her to embrace a more impressionistic approach to garden design, where the overall effect of colour and light took precedence over the individual details.
Let’s look at how J.M.W. Turner’s work inspired Gertrude Jekyll’s colour palettes. Scroll to the right to transform the Turner paintings into Jekyll colour schemes.
Here we can see how Turner’s ‘Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, October 16, 1834’ inspired Jekyll’s colour graded herbaceous borders at her garden at Munstead Wood. In Turner’s painting, the cold grey-blue of the sky contrasts with the reds and oranges of the flames. Similarly, in Jekyll’s border, plants with cool blue flowers and grey foliage gradually progress through peach, pink and lemon to hot reds and oranges.
Below we can see how in ‘Norham Castle, Sunrise, c. 1840-1845’ Turner used pale blues, yellows and white to create a glowing, ethereal effect. While in her June Garden at Munstead Wood, Jekyll blended drifts of blue, yellow and white lupins and iris, and grey-leaved plants to create a similar luminescent effect.
Let’s look at how J.M.W. Turner’s work inspired Gertrude Jekyll’s colour palettes. Scroll to the right to transform the Turner paintings into Jekyll colour schemes.
Here we can see how Turner’s ‘Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, October 16, 1834’ inspired Jekyll’s colour graded herbaceous borders at her garden at Munstead Wood. In Turner’s painting, the cold grey-blue of the sky contrasts with the reds and oranges of the flames. Similarly, in Jekyll’s border, plants with cool blue flowers and grey foliage gradually progress through peach, pink and lemon to hot reds and oranges.
Below we can see how in ‘Norham Castle, Sunrise, c. 1840-1845’ Turner used pale blues, yellows and white to create a glowing, ethereal effect. While in her June Garden at Munstead Wood, Jekyll blended drifts of blue, yellow and white lupins and iris, and grey-leaved plants to create a similar luminescent effect.