The Garden History Blog

I’ve written several times before about the International Garden Festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire but not since 2021 so I thought it was about time for an update after this year’s visit.

Chaumont  is a wonderful combination of a Renaissance chateau, full of contemporary artworks,  19th century parkland full of contemporary sculptures and a wild and whacky collection of contemporary gardens. It usually manages to combine some witty ideas with great design and outstanding permanent planting.

This year the theme was the Garden and Cinema which was interpreted very differently by the 30 or so designers who created the  festival gardens – some very clever, some strange and some very weird and “philosophical”in a very French way [that’s a polite way of saying I didn’t see the connection or get the point!]

Luckily I went just  a couple of days before the horrendous heatwave that hit central France with temperatures of 40C+ so the gardens were still green. I hope enough survives to make another visit worthwhile this autumn.

Continue reading →

Did you know that plants move? I don’t just mean by being blown about in the wind, or sending out creeping roots or runners but actually have parts that move spontaneously as if looking for something?  Plants look static to the naked eye, but all of their parts from tendrils to flowers and leaves move in swaying circles. Of course,  it’s not  that rapid but it is noticeable if you have plenty of time to observe and take careful note –  or you have a slow-motion camera – neither of which  most of us have.

One who did have time was Charles Darwin although only because  he was lying ill in bed in 1863 and had nothing better to do, and of course being Darwin he came up with a theory and then a book on the subject. Of course not everyone took his ideas seriously.

Continue reading →

Many people are passionate about plants but today’s post is about a 19th gardener, author and editor who went one stage further, gave up his promising career as an academic  and devoted much of his life to writing about plants and collecting, researching and spreading the word about just one group of them: cactus.

In the first decades of the 19th century large numbers of new species were being collected in  the Americas, especially Mexico, and sent over to Europe sparking a wave of interest  often called Cactus Cornucopia.

Sadly cactus didn’t bring him fame or fortune but I’m sure they bought him a lot of happiness.

Continue reading →

I often write pieces on here about obscure or forgotten  figures but usually when I say  something like “very little is known about their life” there is actually just about enough information to construct a mini-biography before  looking at their work or significance.  Today’s subject is the exception to that rule, so when I say very little is known about William Wrighte I really mean it.

In fact, one of the striking things about him is how obscure he remains despite the efforts  of several historians to track him down.

What we do know is that he described himself as an architect and he published one book: Grotesque Architecture, or Rural Amusement in 1767 which also had a couple of later editions, but there’s no other  trace of him, his life or any of his architectural work.

Continue reading →