Voices from the Past: Garden Writers of Influence (Part One)

In my descriptions of plants, I often name-drop - "Robinson loved it!" or "Grown by Gerard...". Who, might you ask, are these people, and why should I care what they grew or didn’t grow, liked or didn’t like? Well, they’re garden writers from the past, and if you are the least bit interested in heirloom plants you’ll care a lot about them. You see, without the books written by these people, it would be nearly impossible to find and trace heirloom plants. In fact, the histories of many plants and gardening styles originate in the 14th to 15th centuries, when garden/plant-writing started in earnest. I have a great many books written by various people in various centuries, and these form the main source of my horticultural research. I’d like to introduce you to a few key writers- some you’ll probably recognize, others you won’t. But each in his/her own right was a horticultural hero who influenced both contemporary and future generations of gardeners.

John Gerard (1545 - 1612)

A well-regarded Elizabethan gardener and plant collector, and for twenty years gardener to Lord Burghley, he wrote his Herball, or Historie of Plants, in 1597. Although not entirely original (he borrowed from earlier books) or accurate (he claimed as native many plants which were not), his writing was descriptive and delightful, resulting in the continued popularity of his book. A later version with many of the mistakes rectified was edited in 1633 by Thomas Johnson. The original Herball was a weighty tome (1600 pages), and so I have an abbreviated version - still invaluable.

Nicholas Culpeper (17th century)

Although he began studies in medicine at Cambridge, he gave up his studies after the accidental death of his fiancée, and instead apprenticed with an apothecary in London. Shocked by the difference between his lifestyle (he was born of nobility) and that of the London poor, he set himself up as an apothecary and focussed on helping common people care for themselves. He wrote The Complete Herbal in 1649 to make healing knowledge available to the masses. His book uses common English names for plants, highlights native British plants and uses astrological classification to determine the healing uses of each plant.

William Robinson (1838 - 1935)

Originally a gardener to nobility, he became a prolific writer and one of the most influential voices in garden design of the Victorian age. In fact, Henry Mitchell wrote that "Robinson...for all practical purposes invented gardening as we...know it". Railing against the formal bedding-out schemes so popular with Victorians, with their rigid planting designs and bold-coloured annuals, he almost single-handedly brought about the return to naturalistic garden styles and the use of perennials in mixed beds. This led to the resurgence of interest in the cottage-garden style. In 1883 he wrote his most famous book, "The English Flower Garden", a classic that was subsequently re-issued 15 times.

Gertrude Jekyll (1843 - 1932)

Another highly influential writer of the Victorian age, she began her garden writing career working for William Robinson. Taken with his ideas, she developed them in her own way - popularizing the "drift" approach to planting, for instance - and became a well-known garden designer, working with Edwin Lutyens-a brilliant young architect. She had an incredible knack for colour and plant combinations, and became interested in plant propagation - developing many cultivars that were, and still are, named either after her or her beloved property, Munstead Wood. She wrote a total of 13 books that are still worth reading today.

John Parkinson (1567 - 1650)

An avid gardener and plant collector, and appointed Apothecary to James I, he published the renowned Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terristris in 1629. A later work, Theatrum Botanicum, published when he was 73 years old, is the largest herbal in the English language. However, it is Paradisi that he is remembered for. (By the way, the first three words of this herbal are a rough translation of his name -"Park-in-sun". The man obviously had a sense of humour.) His work provides a wonderful insight into 17th century gardening, with many delightful details of the uses for the plants described.

There are many other writers whose work has been of significant influence, particularly several women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, they will have to wait until the next article....