The English Garden: A Social History

by Charles Quest-Ritson

Gardening is all about lifestyles, money and class. Among the rich, gardens are symbols of social and economic success; among the poor, they are an aid to survival. Most commentators have concentrated on the development of garden styles and fashions, but no history can properly be told without reference to the social and economic conditions which accompanied it. Charles Quest-Ritson sets out to put gardening in its context. He shows how gardens have altered through the generations in direct response to changes in English society itself and he explains the social and financial reasons why gardening evolved as it did. Why do certain plants become fashionable? How much did Humphrey Repton charge for his landscaping? From which surprising benefactor did Vita Sackville-West get the money to create Sissinghurst? Which fruit was the ultimate status symbol in Restoration society? Why is Gerard's Herbal "a fanciful and useless book"? What was life really like in the Victorian gardener's bothy? What is the connection between Capability Brown and 18th-century field sports? When was the first lifestyle gardening magazine published? Why were all the best Edwardian gardens made by "nouveaux riches"? These are some of the questions which this book sets out to answer in a wide-ranging and highly readable account of English gardens through the ages. Chapter by chapter, from 1500 to the present day, Charles Quest-Ritson asks what owners sought from their gardens. Why did people garden? What did they get out of it? Were gardens for food, flowers or recreation? What was fashionable, and why? What was the impact of science and technological innovation? How were plants acquired, propagated and distributed? Who were the gardening experts? What did it all cost? What were gardens for? Central to his narrative is an analysis of how gardens and gardening have been perceived through the centuries and how they matched the changing needs and aspirations of garden-owners, rich and poor.

Genres: History, Gardening, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2003

Reviews

[Elizabeth Grant]

Snarky, illuminating, informative, and intensely amusing.

I bought this book at Kew Gardens, where the bookshop is an embarrassment of riches. What to choose? "The proof of the pudding," my Mum said. "Take your time." So I sat down and read a couple of pages in each book on the little pile that had sprung up next to me. Difficult, I thought, but then I opened Charles Quest-Ritson's The English Garden: A Social History and read: "Garden history has been abducted by the art historians." Too right! The other books on my pile were ample proof. "Too much garden history has been concerned with when gardens were made, what they looked like, who made them and how they changed." Yes, indeed. "More interesting by far is ... why people garden." And just as I was wondering whether this author might not err on the dry, economic side, this sentence leapt to the eye: "There is more to social history than drawing attention to the great gulf which divides the rich from the poor and then whingeing about it." This was going to be fun!

It was, it is: fun and informative, a mine of knowledge. A big thank you to my Mum, who gave me the book even though it was her birthday that day, not mine. She hadn't been looking forward to it, so we decided to give her a treat, and it worked a treat! She was incredibly pleased to find that she was entitled to a reduced entrance fee because she was now a senior citizen. She really liked the gardens, too, though, and we walked for miles.

[Rhode PVD]

Mostly text, on heavy, gorgeous slick white paper. A few illustrations, in just the right places. Lots of primary sources quote, a well researched but definitely readable book. (One does feel badly for all the people prior to 1830 having to keep their lawns trimmed with a scythe.)

[Tory]

Fascinating history of gardens, showing them to be a microcosm of the values of any given period. Stunningly illustrated.

[Mrs L Cox]

Fascinating and well researched. The author is a bit pompous but writes well.

[Godine Publisher & Black Sparrow Press]

"An iceberg of a book. What we see on the page is supported by a great body of research underneath. This is what gives the book its sweeping style and confidence. . . Written with verve, dash, wit, and style."
– Anna Pavord, Independent

"An evocation of those happy garden-lovers who had the wealth to live out their dreams in gardens they made in sunny places. . . Exceptionally well-written and deeply researched . . . a tale of romance and horticultural obsession."
– Fred Whitsey, Daily Telegraph

[Mary]

Heartwarming stories also include a garden! Joy, rest, peace. Enjoy.