The Garden History Blog

Aquilegia and other Greek flower myths

Posted on 20/05/2023 by The Garden History Blog

My aquilegias are looking amazing at the moment. I’ve encouraged them to seed everywhere they want, and the more I grow them the more I like them. But why are they called aquilegia and why do my French friends and neighbours know them as ancolis, while my grandmother told me they were columbines or granny’s bonnets?

The naming of plants is a fascinating affair and you might be surprised to know that many of our common garden plants supposedly get their name from stories in classical mythology. There are some obvious ones like Narcissus, Daphne and Iris, but there are plenty of others including both Aquilegia and its French equivalent, ancolis.

But do you know the stories behind the names? Who did the naming? Why? When?

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged anemones, asters, botanical art, George London, greek myth, Henry Wise, peonies, plant breeding, taxonomy | Leave a comment

Acorns from the King: the rest of the story of Coronation Gardens

Posted on 13/05/2023 by The Garden History Blog

The pavilion in the new Coronation Garden in Antrim opened on May 6th

I know the excitement is over but…here’s the rest of the not-so-short history of Coronation Gardens which will bring it right up to date.

For the coronation of Edward VIII things were planned to be more organised horticulturally. In August 1936 the Marquis of Lothian chaired a meeting of about thirty organisations interested in trees and gardens more generally who then joined forces to form the Coronation Planting Committee.

The logo of the Coronation Planting Committee

Edward’s sister-in-law, the Duchess of York, lent her active support saying that she hoped their “proposals will be enthusiastically taken up, for now is the opportunity for our generation with the advice and good taste of the committee to add to the lasting beauty of our towns, villages and countryside.” It was to be her last public speech as a Duchess because on December 10th Edward abdicated and she became Queen Elizabeth .

Design for the new Coronation Gardens in Antrim

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged public parks, Twentieth Century | Leave a comment

Crowning Glory: A short history of Coronation Gardens

Posted on 06/05/2023 by The Garden History Blog

I obviously can’t compete with the other events happening today but thought I could add a few thoughts about past coronations and how they have been celebrated in horticultural form.

In fact, until the 20thc, apart from occasional tree planting by private landowners, there don’t seem to have been that many garden-related celebrations! But when I tried to research more modern ones I often came up with a virtual blank, as very few of these coronation memorial sites have actually had their history well-recorded. But that’s never stopped me in the past so… read on to see what I have managed to discover…

Coronation display at West Park, Wolverhampton, 1911

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Edwardian, public parks, Twentieth Century, Victorian | 3 Comments

Inigo makes his mark: Athelhampton and The Formal Garden

Posted on 29/04/2023 by The Garden History Blog

From the cover of The Formal Garden, by Blomfield and Thomas, 1892

This post is the result of a chance enquiry from a colleague who asked what I thought of the work of F.Inigo Thomas. If you’ve never heard of him don’t worry. Luckily I remembered being impressed by a visit to Athelhampton, one of the gardens he designed. Then I remembered he had provided most of the illustrations for Reginald Blomfield’s The Formal Garden in England in 1892, so could waffle a bit more, but after that I was a bit stumped, so it was off to do a bit more research. If you like formal gardens then I think you’ll be impressed too because, as Thomas himself said, “I think, as a nation, we are beginning once more to realise the charm of a formal garden.”

Athelhampton

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Dorset, Edwardian, formal garden, Inigo Thomas, Topiary | 2 Comments

Another Swan Song

Posted on 22/04/2023 by The Garden History Blog

Leda and the Swan at Wrest Park

Way back in March 2021 I wrote a piece about swans, which concentrated on their history in parks and gardens in Britain from the mediaeval period through to the 17thc. Then they were probably regarded as high status food as much as anything more aesthetic. I’ve been meaning to continue it ever since and today I’ve finally managed to get round to it!

From the 18thc onwards swans were rarely eaten and so presumably kept, or encouraged to stay, simply because they are beautiful and ornamental. They make the occasional appearance in paintings of 18thc gardens, never centre stage, but more generally on water in the wider estate.

Swan Tile c1640

Whatever the reason that’s a good excuse to include a lot of nice images!

But swans didn’t just grace the scene as living creatures, they can be seen in statues, ornaments and decor both in interiors and gardens including a recent rediscovery about one of England’s greatest lost gardens.