In focus: Miss Willmott's published photographs
'The Garden House'. Plate 37 from 'Warley Garden in Spring and Summer' by Ellen Willmott, 1909 Introduction Anyone that reads my blogs...
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gardenhistorygirl
Sep 24, 202213 min read
Country Life: The Garden Historians’ ‘bible’
Front cover of June 1st, 2022 issue of 'Country Life' Introduction I have to admit to only buying Country Life very occasionally – it’s...
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gardenhistorygirl
Aug 8, 202215 min read
Photography as applied to flowers: Mr Stevens’ ‘prize picture’
'Gloire de Dijon Roses from a prize photograph by Mr Henry Stevens', from 'The Gardeners' Chronicle', February 10, 1883 After a day’s...
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gardenhistorygirl
Jul 22, 202213 min read
‘Gardens under Glass’: The Victorian conservatory
'In the Conservatory' by James Tissot c.1875 I've always been somewhat taken with glasshouses: be it the Palm House at Kew or smaller...
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gardenhistorygirl
Jul 11, 20227 min read
Geraniums (or pelargoniums?) on the windowsill
‘Rubens Peale with a Geranium’, painted by his brother, Rembrandt Peale, 1801. National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA – Patrons’...
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gardenhistorygirl
Jun 30, 202213 min read
Miss Willmott's Roses
Rosa 'Ellen Willmott'. Photograph by Eric Timewell. This rose has been delightfully described as “an Audrey Hepburn of a rose, nothing...
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gardenhistorygirl
May 26, 202213 min read
The Japan-British Exhibition of 1910
Souvenir Exhibition 'Official Guide' to the Japan-British Exhibition of 1910 priced at one shilling. There was also a daily programme...
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gardenhistorygirl
Apr 27, 202210 min read
The 'juicy' tale of the Renaissance citron
‘Still Life with Bowl of Citrons’, late 1640's by Italian artist, Giovanna Garzoni This month I'm stepping out of my comfort zone of the...
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gardenhistorygirl
Apr 1, 202212 min read
Gardening across ‘the pond’ in the early 20th century
Front cover of the US ‘Garden Magazine’, March 1922 edition Most of my garden history research topics relate to the UK, and I’ve always...
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gardenhistorygirl
Feb 25, 202213 min read
'Beautifying railways for the weary traveller'
'Flowers Before Fares' from 'Funny Folks' magazine. Courtesy Dr David Turner on Twitter. In 1884, the Midland Railway company started a...
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gardenhistorygirl
Jan 19, 202217 min read
“Gardeners in bloomers”: Early horticultural schools and colleges for women
The first female gardeners at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew wearing their famous bloomers - a somewhat short-lived and controversial...
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gardenhistorygirl
Dec 31, 20217 min read
A Christmas Present for 1909
For December, I’ve indulged myself somewhat by writing a blog containing some of my favourite garden history topics – the horticultural...
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gardenhistorygirl
Nov 22, 20219 min read
The Early Amateur Photographers - and the beginnings of 'garden photography'
'A Summer’s Evening, Penllergare', by John Dillwyn Llewelyn, August 1854. Note the camera on a tripod on the bank and its reflection in...
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gardenhistorygirl
Oct 23, 202117 min read
The ‘Curious and Noble’: Robert James, 8th Baron Petre of Thorndon Hall (1713-1742)
In the summer of 1741 as a lively dinner hosted by Lord Petre at his Essex estate, Thorndon Hall, neared its conclusion, the guests were...
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gardenhistorygirl
Jan 6, 20219 min read
‘Booby-trapped’ daffodils and a stolen water lily: 100 years of plant thefts
Notice photographed in 2011 at the 6 & B Garden in Manhattan's East Village, New York As you can see from this notice, photographed in a...
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gardenhistorygirl
Nov 17, 20207 min read
For the “use of Ladies, Gentlemen and Gardeners”: Curtis’s Botanical Magazine
'Iris Persica (the Persian Iris)' by James Sowerby. Plate 1 from the first issue of 'The Botanical Magazine or Flower-Garden Displayed'...
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gardenhistorygirl
Nov 8, 20206 min read
The Wardian Case – preventing damage to plants by “monkeys and parakeets”
Detail from ‘A Primrose from England’ by Edward Hopley, 1855 This painting, A Primrose from England, by the artist Edward Hopley was...
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gardenhistorygirl
Nov 5, 20206 min read
The 'first' Chelsea Flower Show: the Royal International Horticultural Exhibition of May 1912
The 'first' Chelsea Flower Show
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gardenhistorygirl
Oct 31, 20204 min read
The beauty of early Japanese plant catalogues
Detail from the front cover of L. Boehmer & Co.’s catalogue for 1899-1900 In this blog, I'm concentrating on one of the earliest of these...
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gardenhistorygirl
Oct 24, 20207 min read
Nature’s own shades of colour
Nature's own shades of colour
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