The Victorian Flower Garden

by Jennifer Davies

Published to coincide with a BBC2 series starting in October 1991, this is a successor to the author's "The Victorian Kitchen Garden" and "The Victorian Kitchen". It tells the stories behind flowers which Victorians grew and loved, and with the help of retired head gardener Harry Dodson explains how simple and exotic flowers were cultivated and used. At country mansions it was the head gardener's task to supply the lady of the house with the flowers she required for gown, bouquet and hair ornament. He also had to decorate with flowers the dinner table, mansion rooms and, in many cases, a large conservatory, and to provide traditional flowers for family weddings and funerals.

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the TV programmes (and got them on DVD) so when this was spotted in a used book shop it was snapped up! Well worth a read, with Harry Dodson explaining how flowers were used during Victoria's reign.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much like Davies's earlier _The Victorian Kitchen Garden_, _The Victorian Flower Garden_ is a richly illustrated account of how a BBC team recreated certain key features of a Victorian flower garden (carpet and subtropical beds, forced flowers, an herbaceous border, etc.) Deeply informed by nineteenth-century horticultural periodicals and gardening guides, Davies's book is a delight for all interested in horticulture.