Do you know your gloriette from your grotto?

Grotto

A grotto is an artificial cavern. A feature of ancient Roman gardens, grottos were revived during the Renaissance and again in the 18th century when the Picturesque ideal became popular. Grottos often include water features and decorative shell-work.

Read the National Heritage List entry for the grotto at Old Wardour Castle.

Umbrello

An umbrello is an outdoor structure that provides shade above a seat. They are places where people could meet, view their garden surroundings and sometimes take tea.

Read the National Heritage List entry for the umbrello at Great Saxham Hall.

Pergola

Pergolas are covered garden walks. They often have double rows of posts or columns supporting beams above. The posts and beams allow climbing plants to decorate the structure.

Read the National Heritage List entry for the Western Pergola at The Hill Garden.

Clairvoie

A clairvoie is an opening that reveals a view to a garden or landscape. Clairvoies can be grilles, fences or gates and can be found in garden walls and hedges.

Read the National Heritage List entry for the Western Summerhouse at The Hill Garden.

Orangery

An orangery is a garden building used for growing and wintering oranges and other fruit and exotic plants. Its distinctive feature is a range of large glass windows on the south side to warm and light the interior.

Early orangeries date from the second half of the 16th century and they gained wide popularity in late 18th century.

Read the National Heritage List entry for the orangery at Wrest Park.

Parterre

Parterres are level garden spaces located close to a house. Laid out in decorative patterns of low, formal beds, they can include flowers, herbs, hedges, lawn and paths.

Read the National Heritage List entry for Kirby Hall.

Rill

A garden rill is a designed water course, usually in the form of a narrow, shallow canal. Rills can be used to connect different garden areas and can add intrigue to eyes and ears.

Read the National Heritage List entry for Shute House.

Crinkle-crankle wall

A crinkle-crankle wall is a snake-like, curving or undulating wall. They may mark a boundary to a garden or enclose a kitchen garden.

Read the National Heritage List entry for Scudamore Place.

Fernery

A fernery is a free-standing garden building or conservatory attached to a house, for the purpose of housing and displaying collections of ferns.

In the mid-19th century, Victorian Britain was gripped by 'pteridomania' or 'fern-fever'.

Read the National Heritage List entry for Thornton Manor.

Ha-ha

A ha-ha is a boundary feature in a garden that keeps out animals without obscuring a view. This is usually by means of an earthwork ditch retained on one side by a vertical wall.

Read the National Heritage List entry for Parham park and garden.

Espalier

Espalier describes an ancient practice that controls the growth of a plant, particularly fruit trees, by pruning and training it to grow on a wall or fence into a specific pattern. It is decorative and allows the fruit tree to get more light and warmth from the sun.

Read the National Heritage List entry for Osborne park and garden.

Gloriette

A gloriette is a garden building erected on an elevated site, generally with open sides that afford views over the surrounding garden or landscape.

This extravagant island gloriette allows for views over a castle moat to the landscape beyond.

Read the National Heritage List entry for Leeds Castle park and garden.

Platoon

Like a troop of soldiers lined up for inspection, a platoon in garden terms is a parallel rank of square or rectangular tree planting set in order alongside a drive or vista.

This example shows a platton flanking a section of the great south avenue that was planted at Holkham Hall in 1735.

Potager

'Potager' is French for 'kitchen garden'. Potagers are often ornamental in character and can be aesthetically pleasing as well as practical.

Influenced by medieval monastic gardens, potagers were elaborately revived in the 16th and 17th centuries, no more so than at the Palace of Versailles for the court of Louis XIV.

Parks and Gardens at Historic England

From ancient to modern, from Repton to Jekyll, Historic England offers a vast amount of fascinating and practical information and guidance for those interested in parks and gardens, including:

technical guidance
garden history research
designed landscapes
selection guides
parks and gardens at risk
modern gardens and landscapes