Capability Brown
Capability Brown nickname of Lancelot Brown (1715-83). British landscape gardener. He started work as a kitchen gardener but his extensive schemes for landscape improvement soon won him important patronage. Brown popularized the English style of garden, which uses the natural landscape, as opposed to the geometric French style. When viewing a garden to be improved, he would often say that the place had ‘capabilities’, hence his nickname. Kew Gardens and the grounds of Blenheim Palace are famous examples of his work.
