Studley Royal is an early example of a garden which incorporates a Medieval ruin into a garden. The garden was created between 1722 and 1742 by John Aislabie. The formal water garden which he created is just downriver from the ruins of Fountains Abbey. John didn't own these ruins; his son bought them in 1768, but the ruins of Fountains Abbey were always an important part of the garden. Another example of a garden which contains a genuine Medieval ruin is Hawkstone Park; it was created between 1780 and 1795 by Sir Rowland Hill and his nephew Sir Richard Hill. The ruins are of a castle which dates from 1228. This garden also has a steep sandstone cliff which rise 300 feet (100 meters) above the garden. Along the crest of this cliff there is a chain of grotto-tunnels which probably date from Roman times. At the end of the eighteenth century a bearded hermit was hired to live in these caves, he was instructed to behave like the Dominican writer and philosopher Giordano Bruno, who was burned for heresy in 1600.
The ruins of a genuine Medieval abbey or castle can evoke genuine feelings of melancholy, 300 foot tall cliffs can cause the visitor to fell genuine fear and awe, tunnels which date from Roman times have a genuine aura of antiquity and may cause a visitor to think of the slaves who probably dug the tunnels.
Painshill Park is an excellent example of a garden in which "follies" were arranged around a 14 acre lake. There were no authentic ruins on the site, even the lake is man-made. The garden was created by Charles Hamilton between 1738 and 1773. The follies were designed as "set pieces" and were intended to evoke various moods in the garden's visitors. The classical world was represented by a Temple of Bacchus in a colorful cheerful setting and a Roman mausoleum in a rough, dreary setting. The medieval world was represented by a ruined abbey and a hermitage. While this garden is among the most artistic and tasteful of picturesque gardens, a Roman mausoleum which never contained anyone's ashes will not evoke the same feelings as a real mausoleum, and the ruins of an abbey which never existed will not evoke the same feelings as the ruins of Fountains Abbey.
We are now at the end of the Twentieth Century, and I think that it would be a mistake for us to erect artificial ruins in our gardens, but we can learn from these gardens. Their main lesson is that in order to evoke sublime feelings, the garden needs to overwhelm the visitor. If you live in an area where glaciers have deposited huge boulders, let the boulders dominate your garden, all of the surrounding plants should play a supporting role. A forest can create a brooding atmosphere as well as the serenely spiritual atmosphere of a cathedral. If you welcome these atmospheres into your garden, the pretty and colorful parts of your garden will seem even more joyful, and your garden will be more stimulating than gardens which lack the deeper moods.
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