Notes from the Garden - Hardcover

Petrie, Ruth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0852651279 ISBN 13: 9780852651278

Publisher: Guardian Books, 2005

Synopsis

This charming guide gathers together writings on all aspects of British gardening, from the nineteenth century plant hunters such as 'China' Wilson and the Veitches, who brought seeds and specimens from every corner of the world, to the designers such as Capability Brown and Gertrude Jekyll, who set their mark on gardening styles. In pieces written by the paper's stellar list of gardening correspondents - Vita Sackville-West, Penelope Hobhouse, Monty Don, Carol Klein, not to mention Christopher Lloyd, the grand old man of British gardening - it explores our dedication to the growing garden. And, with stories about the restoration of the Lost Gardens of Heligan, the building of the great glasshouses at Chatsworth, and the preservation work carried out a Kew, it paints a picture of how history can be unearthed through gardening and emphasizes how important it is to preserve our green-fingered heritage. Coming right up to the present day with pieces on the advances at the Eden project, "Notes on the Garden" is the perfect bedside companion for anyone who loves the feeling of soil between their fingers.

About this title

About the Author

Ruth Petrie is a freelance editor. She selected articles for Cuttings: A Year in the Garden with Christopher Lloyd (2007) and The Guardian Book of the Countryside (2008).

From the Back Cover

A delightful potted history of gardens and gardening from the Guardian archive.

From the Inside Flap

Whether covering the opening of the Manchester Zoological Gardens in 1838, commenting on the village school gardens of Cheadle Hulme and Alsager in 1905 or documenting the 'Dig for Victory' campaign in 1939, the Guardian has devoted countless column inches throughout its history to satisfying the seemingly insatiable British passion for gardening.

Notes from the Garden is a selection of the most beguiling green-fingered pieces from the paper's archive, including contributions from writers such as Ronald Blythe, James Fenton and Nancy Banks-Smith, not to mention that late, great battler against gardening pretension, Christopher Lloyd. As well as charting the broad movements of British gardening history over the past 150 years, from cottage gardening and allotment keeping to landscaping and the inexorable rise in popularity of the garden centre, it includes delightful asides such as a letter condemning the fashion for 'damnable tight trousers' that made gardening a contortionist's art and the 2003 'cull' of Derbyshire garden gnomes.

For anyone who likes to spend their days cultivating their own garden, this book is the perfect evening companion.

Edition details

• Publisher: Guardian Books
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0852651279
• ISBN 13: 9780852651278
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320