Joseph Forsyth Johnson (1840 – 17 July 1906) was an English landscape architect and disciple of John Ruskin. He "played a pivotal role in introducing the notion of naturalistic planting."
Early life
Johnson was English and was possibly born near Liverpool.
Career
Johnson worked for the Manchester Botanical Garden as a flower arranger in 1867.
In the late 1870s and early 1880s, he worked for the Alexandra Palace near London, as the director of horticultural exhibits. The park was overgrown, and he planned to create several vistas so the entirety of the large park would be visible. This would have necessitated the removal of a large number of trees, which proved unacceptable to the community. As a result, Johnson was terminated from the project.
Inman Park
A recommendation in 1887 by New York florist Peter Henderson convinced Joel Hurt to bring Johnson to Atlanta to work on his streetcar suburb, Inman Park. Johnson's design for the 130 acres of Atlanta's first suburb included winding streets, open spaces, and parks inspired by Frederick Law Olmsted.
Piedmont Park
Johnson joined Hurt again for Piedmont Park, the site of the Cotton States and International Exposition, a world's fair that was held in Atlanta, Georgia.
Latta Park
In 1891, he designed Latta Park in Charlotte, North Carolina. The park featured two large pavilions, pleasure drives, ponds, and a grove of shade trees. Latta Park remains today but is smaller in size.
- Residential Sites and Environments, Their Conveniences, Gardens, Parks and Planting. New York: A.T. Delamare, 1898
- "The Laws of Developing Landscape, Showing How to Make Thickets and Woodlands Reveal Their Natural Beauty," Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 29 (1904–1905): 595–624
Personal life
Johnson married Elizabeth Trowsdale (born 1832) on 12 January 1861.