Melanie Dakin curls up on a sun lounger with a pile of inspirational gardening books
The Brother Gardeners
Andrea Wulf's engrossing account of the development of the 18th Century English garden is a real treat. The quest for new species led Britain's plantsmen to forge links overseas - often a hit and miss affair when cargoes of rare species were subject to rough conditions in transit.
The book also details the squabbles betwen botanical thinkers such as Philip Miller, head gardener of the Chelsea Physic Garden whose Gardeners Dictionary was the main horticultural bible as far as most countries were concerned, that is until the young Swedish upstart Carl Linnaeus arrived on the scene with his revolutionary methods of classification.
The book also details the antics of Joseph Banks, educated at Harrow, who it appears was a bit of a wild child before settling down to establish an unrivalled bontanical collection at Kew. Banks and Linnaeus' student Daniel Solander took part in Captain James Cook's famous first great voyage where, according to Andrea, they sampled the delights of Tahiti - both floral and corporeal, as well as having a near disaster stranded on the Great Barrier Reef.
advertisement
Colourful and informative, The Brother Gardeners is a riveting read for garden devotees from start to finish.
William Heinemann, £18.99
Stately Gardening
This gorgeous pictoral book covers some of the finest historic gardens in the country.
Of particular note is the account of the yearly consumption of fruit and vegetables enjoyed by Queen Victoria's household and her kitchen garden at Windsor.
In wartime many Victorian estates fell into decline though thankfully the book, which is written in collaboration with the Historic Houses Association, explores how many owners of stately homes have found ingenious ways of keeping their plots fuctioning. Many are open to the public for regular events and activities.
VisitBritain Publishing, £9.99
Mr Marshal's Flower Book
Who could resist the delicately and painstakingly rendered illustrations in this wonderful compedium of 17th Century flowering plants?
Featuring 140 colour plates, the book charts a year in the garden including exotics such as tulips and hyacinths, which had only recently been introduced to the English garden scene.
Alexander Marshal was a contemporary of botanical luminaries John Tradescant the Younger and Samuel Hartlib. He compiled his Florilegium over a period of 30 years based on discoveries in his own Islington garden and those of his friends.
Marshal's work is also featured in the Amazing Rare Things exhibition at Buckingham Palace, which runs to 28 September. Details: www.the-royal-collection.com
Royal Collection Publications £9.95
The Garden Explorer
You needn't just confine your summer horticultural reading to your own acreage, this handy map and garden book offers scope for exploring the estates of others across the length and breadth of Britain. Included in this slimline volume, which comes in a practical splashproof plastic jacket, are several local gems such as William Kent's classic early English landscape garden at Rousham House in Oxfordshire, Stowe's 250-acres where Capability Brown, Vanbrugh and Kent again let their imaginations take flight and Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's seasonal plantings for The Savill Garden in Windsor Great Park.
Garden highlights and practical information is available for each of the 100-plus venues detailed in the book.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
