Abstract
The type of households that were strongly associated with residences and courts, but at the same time partially deviated from those of the elite society, were those belonging to (court) gardeners. While architects and sculptors belonged to the circle of court artists, and monarchs and members of the nobility devoted themselves to botany as a noble hobby, working in the garden or greenhouses had a different status, as it was physical work connected with the soil. However, this view changed over time and led to the establishment of garden art in the 18th century. Despite their lower position in the formal hierarchy of court society, gardeners had considerable social capital, which stemmed from their profession. This gave them partial power over regulating access to the gardens, but at the same time they had access to the land and everything they grew in the garden. The scope of their activities was thus defined to a certain extent by their official duties, but beyond that it was possible to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the so-called gray economy. Particularly in the 18th century, it is possible to observe trends in the development of gardening households, depending on the development or, conversely, the decline of residences. While the presence of a court brought with it demands for formal maintenance of the gardens and their good appearance, its absence often led to the leasing of a former ornamental (formal) garden and the strengthening of its economic function. In both cases, the gardeners‘ own houses retained their function, which included supervising the activities in the garden.