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Were it not for Gertrude Jekyll, much of the world might be a much drabber place.

Born in 1843, Jekyll was a British horticulturist, garden designer, artist and writer who created more than 400 gardens in Europe in the US and wrote 15 books and more than 1,000 magazine articles on garden design. To honor Jekyll, described as "a premier influence in garden design," Google created a lush and colorful landscape doodle Wednesday to celebrate Jekyll's contribution on her 174 birthday.

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An influential figure in the Arts and Crafts movement, Jekyll is remembered today for the painterly approach she took to arranging her gardens, complete with radiant color and the brush-like strokes. Her impressionistic approach, influenced by English Romantic painter J.M.W. Turner, took into account the color, texture and experience of gardens.

Her desire for plants to be displayed to best effect, even when cut for indoors, led her to design her own line of glass flower vases.

Jekyll, portrayed in the lower left corner, died in 1932 at 89 years old.

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