Monthly Archives: October 2018

Ickworth

Posted on 27/10/2018 by The Gardens Trust

I was lecturing in  Suffolk recently and took the opportunity to call in at Ickworth, for the first time in many years. What a revelation that was. Not the grand rotunda of the house, splendid on the outside but  rather … Continue reading →

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On a slow boat from China…

Posted on 20/10/2018 by The Gardens Trust

China has one of the richest flora in the world but many of its plants remained unknown in the west until comparatively recently. While we all know about Chinoiserie as a fashion in  decor and in garden architecture particularly in … Continue reading →

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Making Mountains and Music in Elysium…

Posted on 13/10/2018 by The Gardens Trust

As I hope I showed in a recent post John Evelyn the 17thc diarist and garden writer spent much of his life designing the perfect garden: Elysium Britannicum.  It was to be an Eden encompassing a complete miniaturized version of … Continue reading →

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The indefatigable John Fraser and his American Nursery

Posted on 06/10/2018 by The Gardens Trust

John Fraser was another one of those botanists and plant hunters who once set the horticultural word on fire with their discoveries but are now scarcely remembered.  Like so many of them he was Scottish,  born in Inverness-shire in 1750, … Continue reading →

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