© Shutterstock

Europe's oldest landscaped garden -

Believed to be the oldest landscaped garden in Europe, Patio de los Naranjos or "Courtyard of the Orange Trees" in the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, southern Spain, was laid out by the Moors in the late 8th century CE.

© Shutterstock 

André Le Nôtre (1613–1700) -

André Le Nôtre is one of the greatest names in landscape architecture. Born in Paris, he became the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France.

© Getty Images 

Gardens of Versailles, France -

Le Nôtre's most celebrated and influential design is the Gardens of Versailles. Covering some 800 hectares (1,976 acres) of land, they epitomize the French formal garden style and have been widely imitated and reproduced.

© Shutterstock 

William Kent (c. 1685–1748) -

English landscape architect William Kent (c. 1685–1748) was also a painter of considerable merit.

© Public Domain 

Chiswick House, England -

Kent's artistic eye no doubt helped him create the grounds of historic Chiswick House near London—one of the earliest examples of the English landscape garden.

© Shutterstock 

Henry Hoare II (1705–1785) -

A member of an esteemed English banking family, Henry Hoare gained national fame for laying out the gardens at Stourhead in Wiltshire, an estate bought by his father.

© Public Domain 

Stourhead, England -

Considered a masterpiece of European garden design, Stourhead's showpiece design earned him the sobriquet "Henry the Magnificent."

© Getty Images 

Capability Brown (1716–1783) -

Born Lancelot Brown but widely known as Capability Brown (his unusual nickname, Capability, came from his habit of reminding clients about the capabilities, or potential, of their properties), this doyen of English landscape architecture remains one of the most famous figures in the history of the landscape garden style.

© Getty Images 

Blenheim Palace, England -

Capability Brown was responsible for more than 170 gardens surrounding the finest country houses and estates in Britain, among them Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, birthplace and ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill.

© Getty Images 

Humphry Repton (1752–1818) -

Humphry Repton's standing was such that he's often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown. He was the last great English landscape designer of the 18th century.

© Getty Images 

Blaise Castle Estate, England -

Humphry Repton is especially distinguished for creating one of the most famous 'picturesque' landscapes in Britain at Blaise Castle, near Bristol.

© Shutterstock 

Peter Joseph Lenné (1789–1866) -

Prussian gardener and landscape architect Peter Joseph Lenné was greatly influenced by the architectural principles of the English landscape garden. His own work, however, shaped the development of 19th-century German garden design in the Neoclassical style.

© Public Domain 

Tiergarten, Germany -

Lenné's works rank among some of the best-known gardens and parks in Germany. But it's his redesign of the park at Sanssouci in Potsdam and the Tiergarten in Berlin that are especially associated with his name.

© Shutterstock 

John Claudius Loudon (1783–1843) -

Scottish botanist, garden designer, and author John Claudius Loudon is usually credited with the adoption of the term landscape architecture by the modern profession, although it was his compatriot and fellow agriculturalist Gilbert Laing Meason (1769–1832) who actually originated the description.

© Getty Images 

Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903) -

Across the Atlantic, it's Frederick Law Olmsted who is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the United States. He codesigned many well-known urban parks in the country with his partner, London-born architect and designer Calvert Vaux.

© Getty Images 

Central Park, USA -

Olmsted and Vaux's first project became their most celebrated—Central Park, which was completed in 1876. The vast New York City greenspace provided the blueprint for subsequent urban parks in America and around the world.

© Getty Images

John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) -

John Charles Olmsted was the nephew and adopted son of Frederick Law Olmsted. He worked with his father and younger brother, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., with the siblings later establishing their own landscape architectural firm, Olmsted Brothers, founded in 1898.

© Public Domain 

Stanford University, USA -

The Olmsted Brothers stamped their design on college campuses, helping to plan and design university grounds across the country. Among these is Stanford University in California—one of the most prestigious seats of learning in the world.

© Shutterstock 

Roberto Burle Marx (1909–1994) -

Standing tall among the most celebrated and influential landscape architects of the modern era is Roberto Burle Marx. The Brazilian landscape architect was also a painter, ecologist, naturalist, artist, musician, and a committed conservationist who advocated voraciously for the preservation of the his country's rain forests.

© Getty Images 

Copacabana beach promenade, Brazil -

Among Marx's most endearing legacies is the Copacabana beach promenade, a 4 km-long (2.5 mi) mosaic completed in 1970 on the famous Rio de Janeiro beach the design of which was influenced by the calçada portuguesa, the patterned pavements found in Portugal made from black and white stones of basalt and limestone.

© Shutterstock 

The High Line, USA -

Drawing from multiple disciplines, which include urban design and ecology, landscape architect James Corner and a team of multidisciplinary designers created the High Line, an elevated greenway built on a disused section of viaduct in New York City.

© Shutterstock 

Jewel Changi Airport, Singapore -

A highly respected grandee in landscape architectural circles, American Peter Walker's work is admired around the world, including in China, Australia, and Singapore, the latter of which is where Jewel Changi Airport embraces the world's tallest indoor waterfall, the Rain Vortex, that's surrounded by a terraced forest setting. He is also applauded for his National September 11 Memorial in New York City.

© Shutterstock 

Bryant Park, USA -

Laurie Olin is one of America's most esteemed landscape architects. His outstanding regeneration of Bryant Park in New York City is one of the reasons he was presented with the prestigious National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama in 2013.

© Shutterstock 

Tuileries Garden, France -

French landscape architect Louis Benech won the admiration of many for his sensitive renovation of the historic Tuileries Garden in Paris, which is a beautiful example of his use of stone, blooms, and plants.

© Shutterstock 

Parco Portello, Italy -

American Charles Jencks (1939–2019) is forever associated with his unique urban landscape designs that often incorporate sculptural elements. Nowhere better is this hybrid landform exemplified than with the amazing Spirals of Time in Parco Portello, Milan.

© Shutterstock 

Grand Canal Square Plaza, Ireland -

A native of Philadelphia, Martha Schwartz's impressive portfolio includes the Grand Canal Square Plaza, facing Dublin's Bord Gáis Energy Theatre. Extensive use of LED lighting enhances her design.

© Shutterstock 

Gateway Arch National Park, USA -

Among hundreds of other projects, Michael Van Valkenburgh is responsible for Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis, over which looms one of the most recognized landmarks in the United States, the impressive Gateway Arch.

© Shutterstock 

Ira Keller Fountain, USA -

The majestic Keller Fountain in Portland, Oregon, sits in a landscape designed by Lawrence Halpin (1916–2009), one of the great pioneers of interactive civil water features.

© Shutterstock 

Jardins du Mont des Arts, Belgium -

Belgian landscape architect René Pechère (1908-2002) made his name as the designer of the outdoor facilities for the 1958 Brussels World Fair—Expo 58. His work can be admired elsewhere in the city, specifically the spruce Jardins du Mont des Arts.

© Shutterstock 

Hestercombe House, England -

English horticulturist and landscape architect Gertrude Jekyll (1843–1932) was prolific in creating over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States. The gardens of Hestercombe House in Somerset are visited by nearly 70,000 people each year.

© Shutterstock 

RHS Garden Wisley, England -

Geoffrey Jellicoe (1900–1996), the founding president of the International Federation of Landscape Architects, designed a garden canal for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in 1970. After his death, the RHS renamed the water feature the "Jellicoe Canal" as a memorial.

See also: Super cool residential architecture

© Shutterstock