Category Archives: Uncategorized

Joseph Knight & his Exotic Nursery

We tend to think of gardeners being poor – unless of course they’re celebs on the box – and it’s hard to think of many gardeners in history who became rich.  But there are exceptions and one such was Joseph … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A pineapple? Gosh…thank you Mr Rose!

I’m sure many of you will know the painting of Charles II being offered a pineapple by his gardener, John Rose. It has been widely used  to demonstrate that British horticulture had become so advanced by the later 17thc that … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

The Sweet Pea and its king…

Sweet peas are one of the glories of the garden. Relatively easy to grow and loved by everybody for their heady scent and delicate colouring, it’s hard to believe that the vast range of varieties we grow all descend from a  plant … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Mounds & Mounts 2: the heights of fashion

Last week’s post showed how earlier landscape features such as tumuli and castle mottes were reused to create prospect mounds in gardens.  But by the mid-16thc mounts were also being deliberately constructed to gain a view not only over the garden … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Mounts and Mounds 1: reusing the past

There’s nothing like a good view, and if you don’t have one naturally why not create one? Don’t have high ground? No problem – create it artificially. Although man-made hills are often associated with fortifications – think motte and bailey castle – … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment