ABSTRACT
This chapter considers freestanding enclosed gardens, where, through their architectural components, they stand out as a statement in the landscape, or, paradoxically, are completely hidden within it. The detached garden fulfils a range of needs and desires, and can broadly be split into two categories: gardens that can give access for our feelings – for matters of the heart, for privacy, thought and reflection – and those for the specialised production of plants, such as the botanic garden and the kitchen garden. The Phoenix Garden in central London is hidden within the fabric of the city with a townscape of skyscrapers towering over it; it is discovered by the intrepid, which enjoy walking through the inner arteries of the city. The giardino segreto, the hidden garden, evolved where the formal rules could be broken and an element of surprise could be introduced.
