The arts and crafts movement brought a distinctive new style to English gardens from the last quarter of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I. Victorian formal planting schemes were abandoned. The arts and crafts garden recalled the straight lines and formal plans of the Tudor period, scaled down and adapted to meet the requirements of the rising middle classes. Strong architectural plans provided a framework for cascades of colour, and vast borders of herbaceous perennials, interspersed with roses, poppies and sunflowers, recalled the haphazard tapestry of colour of an English cottage garden. This is an evaluation of arts and crafts gardens. It draws on examples from famous gardens, gardens open to the public, and less-well-known gardens. There are archive photographs, planting plans, architectural drawings, watercolours and specially commissioned photographs.