Author Archives: The Gardens Trust

  I’m often asked to talk about the history of London’s squares and I always wonder what causes this almost endless fascination.  Of course there’s no doubt that, as the London Gardens Trust says,  “squares are one of the defining … Continue reading →

Last week I wrote the background story of the Royal Horticultural Society’s magnificent but short-lived gardens in South Kensington, and today I want to follow up with an account of the gardens themselves designed by William Andrews Nesfield. When I sat … Continue reading →

Who was Andrew Murray I can hear you asking and how did he lose a garden, especially one in Kensington?  Well, of course he didn’t actually personally  lose the garden, but he did record it before it was lost.  A … Continue reading →

  Some flowers – like tulips, peonies or roses – are important or famous enough  to have their stories told in books that make the best seller list. But while some others have champions who’ve written about them, or are … Continue reading →

  Last week as I was picking  fruit from some small apple trees I noticed how badly grafted one of them was.   It reminded me  that a few weeks ago I wrote about the history of grafting and prompted me … Continue reading →