4 posts published by The Garden History Blog during June 2025| The Garden History Blog
5 posts published by The Garden History Blog during August 2025| The Garden History Blog
Years ago, in another life, I was head teacher of a school in north London. Our playground was on the site of the birthplace of Edward Lear, so the children and I got to know a lot about him when … Continue reading →| The Garden History Blog
Welcome to my 600th post! And to celebrate such a momentous occasion I’m turning today to the second of my garden-related humour posts and the genius of William Heath Robinson. I was both surprised and delighted to discover that he … Continue reading →| The Garden History Blog
I know that I normally only publish a new post on Saturday mornings but there a couple of things coming. up soon that I thought some of you might like to know about which justifies breaking my habit. The first … Continue reading →| The Garden History Blog
August is traditionally the silly season in the media, so in keeping with that the next few posts are going to look at garden-related humour, beginning today with the work of Reginald Arkell. I can…| The Garden History Blog
One of the things that almost never ceases to amaze me is how many plants have been named after people who had little or no connections with them, and often wouldn’t even have known they existed let alone seen them. … Continue reading →| The Garden History Blog
As regular readers will know I’m very fond of the work of garden writer Beverley Nichols, but until recently I hadn’t really taken much notice of his interest and involvement in flower …| The Garden History Blog
The Rothschild family have long had a reputation as great garden makers but while Waddesdon, Exbury or Ascott might be the sites that immediately spring to mind, it was actually Gunnersbury Park bought by Nathan and Hannah Rothschild for £17,000 … Continue reading →| The Garden History Blog
Let’s begin with a conundrum: what’s special about Gunnersbury Park? More specifically, why does it boast not one but two large houses, both built around 1800-1802 which stand sid…| The Garden History Blog
“Pushing through the scrub, beautiful sprays of orchids forced themselves on your attention by brushing your face. The next few steps would have to be tunnelled through climbing fern, and then more orchids on trees with moisture continuously dripping off … Continue reading →| The Garden History Blog
A couple of weeks ago I led a small party of French visitors round some of the gardens of London, Kent and Sussex. One of those I chose was Hever Castle which I hadn’t visited since lockdown. We were all … Continue reading →| The Garden History Blog
Last week’s post saw us follow John Byng’s trip from London to Yorkshire where he spent a lot of time peering at medieval ruins, exploring gardens and admiring picturesque landscapes. I…| The Garden History Blog
“At 12 o’clock, Saturday May 26th 1792, I had taken the Paddington Road, which the rains of last night had made nice riding, and the face of nature gay” So begins the account by Colo…| The Garden History Blog
A few month ago I wrote about the Botanical Gardens at Ooty in southern India where the first superintendent was a Kew-trained gardener, William McIvor. He arrived there in 1848 and spent the res…| The Garden History Blog
I made dinner for a friend the other day, pasta with a nice mushroom sauce, but was a bit puzzled when he looked and said “I don’t really like mushrooms. There’s just something a…| The Garden History Blog
These days there’s only one famous Mrs Richmond – my friend the media star Advolly – but I hate to tell her she has, or at least had, a rival! Who was this other Mrs Richmond ? &n…| The Garden History Blog