The history of the twentieth century gardens began in England. On the British Isles, the second half of the 19th century brought about revolutionary changes in art. The ArtsCrafts movement initiated the revival of various fields mainly arts and crafts, architecture, but also landscaping. We owe the idea ofa „garden city” to England, as well. Its creator was Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928). The idea of a garden city was born in London, in the period after the industrial revolution, as an answer to the extremely poor living conditions of the working class in overcrowded towns and cities of England. In the 20th century, botanical gardens were established in many countries their beginnings are related to the rapid development of life sciences, geographical expeditions and the ability to build greenhouses/hothouses where exotic plants were able to survive. The shaping of gardens was also influenced by land art, that is an artistic activity where the area of activity (background, context or material) is the space of the land. Such activities are often interference in the landscape, transforming its fragment or using the natural processes (erosion, weather factors). The end of the 20th century brought many innovative solutions, particularly in the shaping of greenery in cities. In the United States, a movement was established that has also become popular in Europe „Green partisans”, as they called themselves. They initiated numerous actions; for example, they used to clean and plant neglected spots. We’ll visit selected, representative gardens typical for the 20th century. We’ll start with private gardens, born of the passion of their owners, we’ll wonder whether a garden can be called a work of art.

Agnieszka Wysocka, PhD in art history from the Laboratory of Documentation and Popularisation of Monuments of Regional Centre of Culture and Art in Bydgoszcz. She also teaches history of art at the Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz. As a reviewer for Polskie Radio Pomorza i Kujaw has been for many years watching and commenting on what is happening in galleries and museums.