Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Beasts of Bexley…

Would you expect to find a large red dragon in a garden in Bexley? Or a griffin lurking behind a hedge at a castle near Cardiff?  To say nothing of  a dolphin on a staircase in Kensington or an English leopard in a French camping site? … Continue reading

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Eternal Wrest…

Wrest Park is a rarity.  I’ve heard comments that the house  looks a bit like a mundane French provincial station but, if so, it is a Grade 1 listed French provincial railway station, and mundane on the outside only. Inside … Continue reading

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Tiglath-Pileser I & the passion he shared with William Robinson

It’s not every day that an exotically multi-syllabled king of ancient Assyria gets mentioned in the context of Brtain’s historic parks and gardens.  But I was writing a  lecture about  early plant hunting and decided to start with evidence from antiquity when … Continue reading

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The humble spade…

A short article in the newspaper  the other day reminded me of my promise to write about garden tools from time to time.  If you didn’t catch the story then try to guess what sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury and George Bernard … Continue reading

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Sir John Soane and gardens … continued

In a recent post I looked at Pitzhanger, the country retreat of Sir John Soane.  But Soane was interested in gardens at several other levels. Firstly he designed garden buildings, publishing a series of ideas and plans for seats, temples, tea … Continue reading

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