Recommended by jathton - Aug 16, 2020 1:41 PMWhen a friend of mine learned that Gertrude Jekyll had been described as a polymath [a person of wide-ranging knowledge or learning] she said, "Well, she must have been a fascinating, interesting woman or a monumental bore."
Born in 1843, and living until 1932, Gertrude Jekyll has been described as a British horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, and wrote over 1,000 articles for magazines such as Country Life and William Robinson's The Garden. Jekyll has been described as "a premier influence in garden design" by British and American gardening enthusiasts. Some of her finest work was done in close alliance with Sir Edwin Lutyens, an English architect noted for his country homes, public buildings and memorials. She doesn't sound like a bore to me.
And I think if you will look through The Gardens of Gertrude Jekyll, by Richard Bisgrove, you will find a good many reasons to agree.
By way of recommending this book I'm simply going to show you two photographs in the book. The first is of the dry stack wall within the Manor House gardens at Upton Grey, planted with aubretia, arenaria, pinks and campanula, cascades of cerastium and spires of white snapdragons:
The second image is of a sunny corner at Hestercombe, planted with roses, Madonna lilies, Santolina and giant thistles:
I hope you enjoy this book.
I just ran across one last image of the dry stack wall within the Manor House Gardens at Upton Grey... and thought to post it....
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