Architectural History: Festschrift for John Newman  GARDEN DESIGN IN THE MID-SEVENTEENTH CENTURY By David Jacques Garden writers of the mid-seventeenth century provided copious advice on the best situations for prospect, soil and shelter from wind, but not on design. So who devised the layout of the gardens? Garden writers addressed their books to landowners who would be building or improving their country residences. Such owners would be used to overseeing the setting out and enclosure of fields and garden grounds themselves. The content and tone of the gardening books, coupled with the virtual absence of relevant advice in the architectural treatises, suggests that masterminding fine gardens around a house was one of the accomplishments expected of the owner himself. A skilled gardener would be sought to convert the bare ground into the gardens and orchards intended. Owners might, depending on their interests, take an interest in the horticultural aspect. Sir Thomas Hanmer and John Evelyn were amongst those to do so, and John Rea encouraged others, especially in flower gardening: 1 Fair Houses are more frequent than fine Gardens; the first effected by Artificers onely, the latter requiring more skill in the Owner: few Gardens being found well furnished out of the hands of an affectionate Florist… I shall now proceed to inform all such as desire to be Florists, how they may do as I have done, make their own Gardens themselves, assisted onely by ordinary Labourers…