British Gardening History
@britgardhistory.bsky.social
I'm Karen Meadows, a garden history writer living in the heart of England. Publishing 'The Lost Apples of Stamford - a Detective Story' 2026.
Pinned
Meet gorgeous Lady Lennox - believed lost for 110 years and now confirmed found by the Fruit ID committee. Local pomologist Denis Smith discovered it growing at Burghley House and I slowly managed to unravel its provenance. Thrilled our submission was successful.
'November' from Eliot Hodgkin's 'The Months', 1950. A brocade-coloured chrysanthemum, reddening geranium leaves, the first blanched chicory, arbutus unedo fruits, bulbs and seeds for autumn planting.
November 1, 2025 at 12:40 PM
'November' from Eliot Hodgkin's 'The Months', 1950. A brocade-coloured chrysanthemum, reddening geranium leaves, the first blanched chicory, arbutus unedo fruits, bulbs and seeds for autumn planting.
Not from Britain, but such a beautiful photo. Workers stripping jasmine flowers for the perfume industry in 1915, at a convent turned into a factory in Notre Dame des Fleurs, Grasse, Southern France. The fragrance must have been intoxicating! Meanwhile, further north, war raged ...
October 27, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Not from Britain, but such a beautiful photo. Workers stripping jasmine flowers for the perfume industry in 1915, at a convent turned into a factory in Notre Dame des Fleurs, Grasse, Southern France. The fragrance must have been intoxicating! Meanwhile, further north, war raged ...
A good haul (and a well-loved, hand-knitted gardening cardigan)! Found, mid-century photo.
October 19, 2025 at 10:38 AM
A good haul (and a well-loved, hand-knitted gardening cardigan)! Found, mid-century photo.
Golden Crab Apples, Eliot Hodgkin, 1957, private collection.
October 8, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Golden Crab Apples, Eliot Hodgkin, 1957, private collection.
First published in 1956, and written by Sir Sacheverell Sitwell, 6th baronet (1897-1988, brother of the eccentric Dame Edith), this remains an excellent bibliographical record of two centuries of finely-illustrated flower books from around the world.
October 6, 2025 at 8:59 AM
First published in 1956, and written by Sir Sacheverell Sitwell, 6th baronet (1897-1988, brother of the eccentric Dame Edith), this remains an excellent bibliographical record of two centuries of finely-illustrated flower books from around the world.
'October' from Eliot Hodgkin's 'The Months', 1951. Cooking apples take centre stage, flanked by grapes, fungi and the first celery and Brussels sprouts. There's a button chrysanthemum, fluffy Old Man's Beard, a shiny conker and a reddening leaf of Virginia Creeper.
October 1, 2025 at 8:10 AM
'October' from Eliot Hodgkin's 'The Months', 1951. Cooking apples take centre stage, flanked by grapes, fungi and the first celery and Brussels sprouts. There's a button chrysanthemum, fluffy Old Man's Beard, a shiny conker and a reddening leaf of Virginia Creeper.
'The Garden', Charles Mahoney, 1950
September 23, 2025 at 8:45 AM
'The Garden', Charles Mahoney, 1950
Tea in the garden for an unknown Edwardian family.
September 18, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Tea in the garden for an unknown Edwardian family.
'Yellow Ox-eye daisies', Charles Mahoney (1903-1968), Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Mahoney painted this post-war study of telekia speciosa at his garden in Wrotham, Kent, where he had constructed his studio from munition packing cases.
September 15, 2025 at 9:06 AM
'Yellow Ox-eye daisies', Charles Mahoney (1903-1968), Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Mahoney painted this post-war study of telekia speciosa at his garden in Wrotham, Kent, where he had constructed his studio from munition packing cases.
September from The Months, Eliot Hodgkin, 1950. A soft orange dahlia takes centrepiece, alongside the first sweetcorn cob and first of the autumn apples. There are delicate trails of Virginia creeper and blackberries, and a sprinkling of mushrooms and nuts.
September 1, 2025 at 8:18 AM
September from The Months, Eliot Hodgkin, 1950. A soft orange dahlia takes centrepiece, alongside the first sweetcorn cob and first of the autumn apples. There are delicate trails of Virginia creeper and blackberries, and a sprinkling of mushrooms and nuts.
A very interesting new article on Joseph and Florence Pemberton and their rose introductions (Buff Beauty probably being the most famous) on The Garden History blog. thegardenhistory.blog/2025/08/30/j...
Joseph & Florence Pemberton and their roses
At one of our open garden days recently visitors were admiring a group of “Buff Beauty” roses which, despite the scorching heat and weeks of drought, still managed to show a few flower…
thegardenhistory.blog
August 30, 2025 at 8:24 AM
A very interesting new article on Joseph and Florence Pemberton and their rose introductions (Buff Beauty probably being the most famous) on The Garden History blog. thegardenhistory.blog/2025/08/30/j...
All I can discover about this painting of terraced back gardens is that the artist is an E N Thurston and that it is 'vintage'. Does anyone know more?
August 26, 2025 at 9:24 AM
All I can discover about this painting of terraced back gardens is that the artist is an E N Thurston and that it is 'vintage'. Does anyone know more?
Postcard of an impressively dressed Edwardian couple on their allotment, 1905. Annotated 78 Cornwall Road, Kettering - probably their home address.
August 20, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Postcard of an impressively dressed Edwardian couple on their allotment, 1905. Annotated 78 Cornwall Road, Kettering - probably their home address.
With allotments under new threat, enjoy this short BBC film from 1971. Allotments aren't just about produce, they're also about community ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wci...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wci...
1973: The Finest ALLOTMENTS In Britain? | Nationwide | Voice of the People | BBC Archive
YouTube video by BBC Archive
www.youtube.com
August 14, 2025 at 9:23 AM
With allotments under new threat, enjoy this short BBC film from 1971. Allotments aren't just about produce, they're also about community ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wci...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wci...
'Miss Edith Inspects the Sweetpea', by London artist Charles Mahoney, c.1934. The artwork depicts Mahoney's landlady overseeing work in her garden, and the painting was a significant contribution to the artist's 1976 posthumous exhibition.
August 8, 2025 at 11:21 AM
'Miss Edith Inspects the Sweetpea', by London artist Charles Mahoney, c.1934. The artwork depicts Mahoney's landlady overseeing work in her garden, and the painting was a significant contribution to the artist's 1976 posthumous exhibition.
August from Eliot Hodgkin's 'The Months', 1950. The colours are warm and rich - vibrant zinnias, cuckoo pint berries, the rust of a sorrel flower, the first pear, apricot and mushrooms of the year, and, by contrast, a cluster of snowberries and a pale ear of wheat.
August 1, 2025 at 8:09 AM
August from Eliot Hodgkin's 'The Months', 1950. The colours are warm and rich - vibrant zinnias, cuckoo pint berries, the rust of a sorrel flower, the first pear, apricot and mushrooms of the year, and, by contrast, a cluster of snowberries and a pale ear of wheat.
Hop picking in Yalding, Kent, 1944. Londoners from the East End joined locals for several weeks each summer, staying in tin huts with straw mattresses and cooking on camp-fires. Despite the hard work, it is remembered with fondness by many London children.
July 26, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Hop picking in Yalding, Kent, 1944. Londoners from the East End joined locals for several weeks each summer, staying in tin huts with straw mattresses and cooking on camp-fires. Despite the hard work, it is remembered with fondness by many London children.
Nectarines were a surprisingly popular fruit among Victorian gardeners, who generally had to grow them under glass. 'Victoria' was most probably introduced by Rivers Nursery of Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire in the 1840s to mark the new Queen's accession.
July 14, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Nectarines were a surprisingly popular fruit among Victorian gardeners, who generally had to grow them under glass. 'Victoria' was most probably introduced by Rivers Nursery of Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire in the 1840s to mark the new Queen's accession.
Land girls harvesting tomatoes, Lea Valley, Hertfordshire, 1944. Although enjoyed in salads, the tomato was still approached with caution in the UK. As a young man during WWII my father was warned by his doctor that they could cause appendicitis.
July 7, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Land girls harvesting tomatoes, Lea Valley, Hertfordshire, 1944. Although enjoyed in salads, the tomato was still approached with caution in the UK. As a young man during WWII my father was warned by his doctor that they could cause appendicitis.
Land girls harvesting tomatoes, Lea Valley, Hertfordshire, 1944. Although enjoyed in salads, the tomato was still approached with caution in the UK. As a young man during WWII my father was warned by his doctor that they could cause appendicitis.
July 7, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Land girls harvesting tomatoes, Lea Valley, Hertfordshire, 1944. Although enjoyed in salads, the tomato was still approached with caution in the UK. As a young man during WWII my father was warned by his doctor that they could cause appendicitis.
July from Eliot Hodgkin's 'The Months', 1950. A superb globe artichoke takes centre stage, surrounded by heady white nicotiana flowers, a variegated carnation, cornflower, begonia and Chinese forget-me-not. There are luscious summer berries but also the sinister touch of deadly nightshade.
July 2, 2025 at 9:18 AM
July from Eliot Hodgkin's 'The Months', 1950. A superb globe artichoke takes centre stage, surrounded by heady white nicotiana flowers, a variegated carnation, cornflower, begonia and Chinese forget-me-not. There are luscious summer berries but also the sinister touch of deadly nightshade.
The Dunbar family in the garden at The Cedars, Spring; Evelyn Dunbar, 1938. Evelyn's father, William, is presenting eggs to her mother, Florence. Evelyn is playing badminton with her sister Jessie, and her siblings Marjorie, Alec and Ronald also appear.
June 20, 2025 at 11:14 AM
The Dunbar family in the garden at The Cedars, Spring; Evelyn Dunbar, 1938. Evelyn's father, William, is presenting eggs to her mother, Florence. Evelyn is playing badminton with her sister Jessie, and her siblings Marjorie, Alec and Ronald also appear.
I suspect (am not certain) that this lovely Edwardian photograph was by Etheldreda Laing (1872-1960), a gifted amateur photographer, renowned for her images of daily life at the family home, Bury Knowle House, in Oxford. She was particularly fond of photographing hollyhocks.
June 16, 2025 at 9:51 AM
I suspect (am not certain) that this lovely Edwardian photograph was by Etheldreda Laing (1872-1960), a gifted amateur photographer, renowned for her images of daily life at the family home, Bury Knowle House, in Oxford. She was particularly fond of photographing hollyhocks.
Aster Alpinus (alpine daisy), plate from William Curtis' Botanical Magazine, 1 August 1792.
June 14, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Aster Alpinus (alpine daisy), plate from William Curtis' Botanical Magazine, 1 August 1792.
The Land Girl magazine was launched on 1 April 1940 at the price of 4d to help the girls feel less isolated. It became so popular (selling 21,000 copies a week) that the Ministry of Agriculture decided to fund its production. The last edition was published in March 1947.
June 7, 2025 at 10:14 AM
The Land Girl magazine was launched on 1 April 1940 at the price of 4d to help the girls feel less isolated. It became so popular (selling 21,000 copies a week) that the Ministry of Agriculture decided to fund its production. The last edition was published in March 1947.