Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Gardenhistorygirl blog


My favourite find of the year so far is the marvellous, and marvellously written, Gardenhistorygirl blog run by Arcady. Although it looks at garden history, it takes a sensibly broad view of the definition of the word, as Arcady explains:
"History begins with the last moment. So this blog will also include recent garden history...spaces and objects of interest now, as well as what is past. No generation has a lock on what is beautiful or innovative, so the best understanding, the best design, the most satisfying garden places, have something of both past and present, now and then."
There's so much to browse here - a look at just what a gazebo actually is, the various garden buildings at Elsfield Manor (including a Druid temple and an Egyptian pyramid - now that's what I call a shedworking atmosphere ), and my favourite so far, green roofs then and now. Pictured above is the Hermitage in Queen Caroline's gardens at Richmond, later to become Kew, around 1728. Definitely one to add to your feed.

4 comments:

  1. Nice find Alex!!

    Regards.....Bill Kratz

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:58 PM

      Hello,
      Are you Bill Kratz previously involved in water heaters ?
      Xavier F

      Delete
  2. Along with the Hermitage, there was a Merlin's Cave with waxworks of Merlin and other famous Britons (?) in it. Hurray!
    This is the kind of weird fact I'm having to learn at the moment as all the Kew volunteer guides are putting on a month of heritage tours in May featuring all the weird and wonderful history of Kew.
    Ah, aren't we nice?

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  3. Thanks for the kind words and the link! FYI, the small ruined temple at Elsfield Manor was in fact where John Buchan (author of The Thirty-Nine Steps) went to write. He was a shedworker, apparently!
    Best,
    gardenhistorygirl

    ReplyDelete