Author Archives: The Garden History Blog

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About The Garden History Blog

Website - www.thegardenhistory.blog

Do behold the King in his glory…King Sequoia!

In 1849 a young Cornishman William Lobb arrived  in San Francisco. Not to take part in the famous Gold Rush but to hunt for green gold for his employer, the enterprising Exeter nurseryman, James Veitch. What Lobb bought back created … Continue reading

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The Vicar and Gladi-mania…

Despite what you might think, it wasn’t Dame Edna Everage who was first to shout about the glories of the gladi, but a medal-winning vicar from Kent with a dry sense of humour, who rejoiced in the name of Henry Honeywood D’Ombrain… and I … Continue reading

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“What God would have built if he had the money…”

“What God would have built if he had the money…” is what  George Bernard Shaw is supposed to have said on visiting William Randolph Hearst at St Donat’s Castle in South Wales.  It’s not surprising that Shaw was impressed!   St Donat’s  is a … Continue reading

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Dead Dogs….

Hows that for a cheery topic?   It’s the 200th anniversary next week of the death of a dog. Admittedly not just any old dog but one called Boatswain, a much-loved Newfoundland dog  that belonged to Lord Byron. So besotted was … Continue reading

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Beatrice Parsons : Queen of the blazing border….

Go on admit it…you’ve never heard of Beatrice Parsons.  But believe it or not a century ago she was one of the leading garden painters in Britain, with many exhibitions to her credit, and her pictures collected by fashionable society, including … Continue reading

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