Secret Gardens of Somerset

Author: Abigail Willis
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
ISBN: 0711252238
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 147

Book Description
Secret Gardens of Somerset offers a personal tour of 20 of the UK’s most beguiling gardens in this much-loved area of southern England, defined by its distinctive horticulture, rolling hills, picturesque villages and the most traditional English landscape. Abigail Willis and Clive Boursnell give you privileged access to 20 gardens, from a highly productive working flower farm to very personal private retreats, revealing their history, design and plant collections, in the company of their devoted owners and head gardeners. In the footsteps of artists and trend-setters from Victorian designers such as Harold Peto to planting visionary, Gertrude Jekyll as well as contemporary pioneer Piet Oudolf, we find a series of beguiling country gardens of different sizes and atmospheres, which have shaped the English identity, and in different ways express the ideals of English life. The gardens: The American Museum and Gardens, Barley Wood Walled Garden, Batcombe House, The Bishop’s Palace, Common Farm, Cothay Manor, East Lambrook Manor, Elworthy Cottage, Forest Lodge, Greencombe Gardens, Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Hestercombe, Iford Manor, Kilver Court, Midney Gardens, Milton Lodge gardens, The Newt in Somerset, Stoberry House, Westbrook House, and Yeo Valley Organic Garden. Most of the gardens included here are privately owned and usually open to the public. Meanwhile, all of these landscapes can now be enjoyed through the eyes of the owners themselves. Tour even more magnificent English gardens with Secret Gardens of the Cotswolds and Secret Gardens of East Anglia.

Sissinghurst: The Dream Garden

Author: Tim Richardson
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
ISBN: 0711261636
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 227

Book Description
Step inside the world's most famous garden and understand the strength of its attraction in this beautiful and fascinating study. Since is was bought and transformed by writer Vita Sackville West and diplomat Harold Nicholson in the 1930s, this garden has captured imaginations with its unique and intricate design. This unforgettable garden of rooms is influential today for its design, its exuberant planting, and its effect on visitors as a complete garden experience. Author Tim Richardson explores its power and its magic, explaining the nuances of its evolution and shows how we can all enjoy it today. Beautiful photographs transport you to the National Trust property, showcasing it in all its brilliance.

The Story of Gardening

Author: Penelope Hobhouse
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781616899196
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
A fascinating, definitive history of garden development and design. From the earliest documented gardens of ancient Mesopotamia to the eclectic landscapes of the 21st century, The Story of Gardening is an engaging tale of the development and design of the garden. Brimming with glorious full-color photographs, intriguing timelines that chart the histories and fashions of individual plants, and evocative narratives, Hobhouse draws on a lifetime of work to create an enlightening overview of designers and styles that have inspired her creations and forged her gardening philosophy.

Somerset Homecoming

Author: Dorothy Spruill Redford
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN: 9780807848432
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 180

Book Description
The story of one woman's unflagging efforts to recover the history of her ancestors, slaves who had lived and worked at Somerset Place plantation.

Onward and Upward in the Garden

Author: Katharine S. White
Publisher: New York Review of Books
ISBN: 1590178513
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 393

Book Description
In 1925 Harold Ross hired Katharine Sergeant Angell as a manuscript reader for The New Yorker. Within months she became the magazine’s first fiction editor, discovering and championing the work of Vladimir Nabokov, John Updike, James Thurber, Marianne Moore, and her husband-to-be, E. B. White, among others. After years of cultivating fiction, White set her sights on a new genre: garden writing. On March 1, 1958, The New Yorker ran a column entitled “Onward and Upward in the Garden,” a critical review of garden catalogs, in which White extolled the writings of “seedmen and nurserymen,” those unsung authors who produced her “favorite reading matter.” Thirteen more columns followed, exploring the history and literature of gardens, flower arranging, herbalists, and developments in gardening. Two years after her death in 1977, E. B. White collected and published the series, with a fond introduction. The result is this sharp-eyed appreciation of the green world of growing things, of the aesthetic pleasures of gardens and garden writing, and of the dreams that gardens inspire.

Planting the Oudolf Gardens at Hauser and Wirth Somerset

Author: Rory Dusoir
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781999734534
Category : Grasses
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Piet Oudolf is renowned for his exceptional use of perennials and grasses. His deep knowledge of plants and skill in choosing and grouping them is brilliantly displayed at Hauser et Wirth Somerset in an immersive, botanically rich garden which enthralls visitors in every season.0The garden piqued the interest of plantsman and garden designer Rory Dusoir who undertook regular visits over the course of a year. In this book he describes the beautiful, dependable plants used to striking effect, scrutinizes the classic Oudolf planting techniques and marvels at the sporobolus meadow which Piet has described as "wilder than wildness itself".0Oudolf fans will delight in this book which gives full access to the plant lists, planting combinations and horticultural know-how. More than 300 exceptional quality photographs capture the very special quality of the gardens and, combined with the text, offer a unique insight into planting the Oudolf way.

Women and Their Gardens

Author: Catherine Horwood
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
ISBN: 1613743408
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 449

Book Description
From the golden age in English history to today s gardeners and designers, this volume recognizes women s contributions to gardening in Britain and around the worldspanning more than four centuries. Despite growing vegetables for their kitchens, tending herbs for their medicine cupboards, and teaching other women about the craft before agricultural schools officially existed, women have been mere footnotes in the horticultural annals for specimens collected abroad. These pioneers influence on the style of gardens in the present day is illustrated here in a style both accessible and scholarly. Presenting a rare bouquet, this collection shares the stories of more than 200 women who have been involved withgarden design, plant collecting, flower arranging, botanical art, garden writing, and education."

We Made a Garden

Author: Margery Fish
Publisher: Batsford Books
ISBN: 1849949611
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 176

Book Description
An elegant new edition of a classic book from one of the twentieth century's greatest garden writers. This landmark work on creating a garden was first published in 1956 and has rarely been out of print since. We Made a Garden is the story of how Margery Fish, one of the leading British gardeners of the mid-20th century, and her husband Walter transformed an acre of wilderness into a stunning cottage garden, still open to the public at East Lambrook Manor, Somerset, England. Quirky and readable, this book details her creation of a world-renowned cottage garden, as well as her battles with Walter in the process, who preferred the standard suburban approach. In this beautiful and timeless work, she recounts the trials and tribulations, the successes and failures of her venture with ease and humour. Topics covered are colourful and diverse, ranging from the most suitable hyssop for the terraced garden through composting, hedges and making paths to the best time to lift and replant tulip bulbs. This book has been hailed as everything from a blueprint for the creation of a modern cottage garden to a feminist manifesto, and the author's practical knowledge, imaginative ideas and general good sense will encourage and inspire gardeners everywhere.

P. Allen Smith's Garden Home

Author: P. Allen Smith
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
ISBN: 9780609609323
Category : Gardens
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Lots of people want gardens but find the prospect of getting started a bit daunting. P. Allen Smith's Garden Home is P. Allen Smith's inviting solution. Smith begins with his own story: his family's love of gardens and experience in the nursery business, his own education at the great gardens of England, and his discovery that we all have, as he says, "a longing for our agrarian past." After walking us through his own "garden home" and explaining why he made the choices he did, Allen introduces his 12 principles of garden design, discussing such topics as a sense of enclosure, framing the view, texture, pattern, rhythm, and, of course, color. Then, with step-by-step projects, he shows readers how to apply the principles in their own garden homes. For the millions of people who know Smith through his syndicated television show, Weather Channel segments, and appearances on The Early Show, this book is the irresistible invitation to follow him into the garden.

The Mrs Mackinnons

Author: Jayne Davis
Publisher: Verbena Books
ISBN: 9781999954413
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 562

Book Description
Historical romance set in England in 1799. A traumatised solider returns from India to a derelict estate and hostile family. A widow and her young son avoid her manipulative father by living in a small village, just about making ends meet. A full cast of secondary characters enriches their story.