Tag Archives: water gardens

Recording the Rococo : Thomas Robins

Posted on 05/05/2018 by The Gardens Trust

Sometimes one gets a real surprise from a book. I did a few weeks ago in the British Library… and I don’t mean when I started to read it, but literally when it was brought to the counter. There were … Continue reading →

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Amorous polygamy at Abbotsbury

Posted on 17/02/2018 by The Gardens Trust

No – it’s not south-east Asia but south-west Dorset!   Abbotsbury, a garden founded by the Strangways family in the late 18thc,  was my first point of call recently on an out of season tour of some gardens in the south-west. In … Continue reading →

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Coleton Fishacre: The Garden by the Sea

Posted on 30/09/2017 by The Gardens Trust

Imagine sailing gently along the coast of Britain and spotting a nice little steep-sided valley running down to the sea…no buildings in sight, just a few sheep and wizened wind-battered trees… deciding that would make a good place for a house… … Continue reading →

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Peter Smithers: Plantsman, Politician & Floral Pornographer

Posted on 15/07/2017 by The Gardens Trust

Sir Peter Smithers [1913-2006] was an intelligence officer, a Tory politician, diplomat and above all a great gardener. “I regard gardening and planting as the other half of life, a counterpoint to the rough and tumble of politics,” he wrote. During his … Continue reading →

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Upton House & the Bearsteds

Posted on 17/12/2016 by The Gardens Trust

Last week’s post gave an introduction to the history and  garden design of Upton House, near Banbury which is now in the hands of the National Trust. Although the underlying structure dates from the very end of the 17th/early 18thc, … Continue reading →

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