The Garden History Blog

Gardens on the Wall part 1: John Baptist Jackson

Posted on 12/11/2016 by The Garden History Blog

Classical 'arch and pillar ' pattern 1760s, Bourton V&A

Classical ‘arch and pillar ‘ pattern 1760s,V&A

There are several ways of gardening indoors and several of gardening on walls but this post is about a way of doing both at once: wallpaper.

Wallpaper has long used floral motifs. We’re all familiar with flowery wallpaper – some good, some indifferent and some hideous enough to give you nightmares. We’re probably all familiar too with the wonderful Chinese wallpapers featuring exotic flowers and birds imported by the East India Company in the 18thc, but did you know that there is also a long tradition of landscapes and garden features being depicted on other wallpapers?

It’s amazing any of these have survived because wallpaper is so fragile, ephemeral and its so easy to replace it or paint over it to keep up with trends in fashionable decor. The vast majority of old wall hangings have disappeared without trace or can only be glimpsed as the background in a print or painting, so perhaps as a result the V&A believes that wallpaper usually been has been the poor relation of the decorative arts.

from Old time wall papers, by Kate Sanborn, Kate, 1905

from Old time wall papers, by Kate Sanborn, 1905, https://archive.org/details/oldtimewallpaper00sanb

Read on to find out more, especially what wallpaper can tell us about our gardens! Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Chinoiserie, wallpaper | 1 Comment

Westonbirt & the Holfords

Posted on 05/11/2016 by The Garden History Blog

The Italian Garden
http://www.ngs.org.uk

Everyone’s heard of Westonbirt Arboretum, one of the most extensive and beautiful collections of trees in the country. But how about the other gardens at Westonbirt? Perhaps not. Yet like the arboretum they were created by the same visionary, Robert Stayner Holford, are just across the road and are open to the public, although they now form the grounds of Westonbirt School.

http://www.botanicalgardenphotography.com

I had the chance to see them when I went down to Gloucestershire for a day conference – Protecting Historic Parks and Gardens: ‘It’s a Piece of Cake’ – organized by the Historic Landscapes Project which is part of The Gardens Trust. It was held in the school and because the Historic Landscapes Project is such an impressive resource [despite being run on a shoestring] I’d have signed up for the day even without the cake!

The programme was lively and informative [with the cake an added bonus] and included a tour of the grounds led by Margie Hoffnung, The Gardens Trust’s Conservation Officer, who had also been the leading volunteer in the gardens at Westonbirt. What an eye-opener that proved to be. Westonbirt was, and largely still is, a Victorian masterpiece and it’s no wonder that the gardens as well as the house are Grade 1 listed.

David Marsh, Oct 2016

I’m very grateful to Margie for letting me have access to her notes and for checking through the post – any errors are mine and not hers. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged arboretum, Chatsworth, conservation, Earl of Morley, Forestry Commission, garden buildings, George Holford, Italian Garden, orchids, Pulhamite, Robert Holford, Rockery, Royal Horticultural Society, Trentham, water gardens, Westonbirt, William Goldring, william sawrey gilpin, Wollaton Hall | Leave a comment

Peas, perfect peas

Posted on 29/10/2016 by The Garden History Blog

Fildes, Luke; Girl Shelling Peas; Warrington Museum & Art Gallery; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/girl-shelling-peas-104014

Girl Shelling Peas, by Luke Fildes, Warrington Museum & Art Gallery; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/girl-shelling-peas-104014

Move over Capability Brown, you have to share your year of fame with peas! It has probably slipped your notice (as I confess it did mine) but the United Nations has declared 2016 to be the ‘International Year of Pulses’ (IYP) , so here’s a post to celebrate one of our most popular vegetables.

In the search for perfection modern peas have, like so many other plant crops, been industrialized. Varieties have been selected that ripen at the same time, and grow on dwarf plants that are easy to harvest mechanically.

That has advantages of course, especially in terms of economics, but the downside is that it means that most people will never have the chance to sample the huge variety of tastes and textures that once existed on a commercial scale but now only cling on as heritage varieties.

And if you don’t recognize the man in the photo or know what he has got to do with peas then read on…

Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Cries, Gregor Mendel, James Carter, John Gerard, John Parkinson, John Worlidge, Leonard Meager, seeds, Stephen Switzer, Suttons, thomas knight, thomas Tusser, vegetables, Vilmorin, william cobbett | 3 Comments

Bodiam Castle

Posted on 22/10/2016 by The Garden History Blog

Bodiam in Sussex has been described as the most written about and photographed castle in the whole of Britain. This is not just because it’s a wonderfully photogenic site with opportunities to show off even an amateur’s camera skills.

Bodiam doesn’t figure on our database because its not a park or garden in the traditional sense but for the last 30 years it has been at the centre of a vigorous academic debate as to its purpose and function which is perhaps not as obvious as you might think. In short its been a debate about whether Bodiam is just a castle in the traditional sense or something much more elaborate and significant: an entirely artificial mediaeval landscape.

Read on to find out more…

Aerial photo of Bodiam Castle , from 1800 feet Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved] © Copyright Phil Laycock 2007 and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged archaeology, bridge, Mediaeval, water gardens | Leave a comment

A Building for the Termination of a Walk in the Chinese Taste, from Rural Architecture in the Chinese Taste.

It was hard not to smile when, whilst researching for a lecture on Chinoiserie in the garden, I flicked through the pattern books published by William Halfpenny, a virtually unknown 18thc architect.

Very little of his work appears to have survived, although what does is impressive and suggests that perhaps he has been under-rated. In particular the recent re-creation of the Chinese bridge that he designed for Lord Coventry at Croome Park is an elegant reminder of his ability.

But really his fame, such as it is, now mainly rests on a series of books of architectural designs for garden structures and other features, which are often whimsical when they are not pure comic fantasy. Halfpenny clearly had a vivid imagination so read on to find out more and, I hope, be at least mildly amused…