N° 2056
In the foreword to this social history of
gardens and gardening Jane Brown states her intention to steer away
from "overly aristocratic" garden history in favour of one that is
"popular and nostalgic." From our early introduction to the garden
as children via nursery rhymes and fairy tales, the notion of
garden as refuge and stepping stone to adventure is deeply embedded
in our psyche. Humankind's need to tend the earth is ancient and
has come in many guises through history. From the sensuous pleasure
gardens of The Arabian Nights to the orderly monastic vegetable
plots of Benedictine monks, the horticultural fascination is
timeless.
Social changes have radically affected our view of gardening--who
does it and how it is done. Brown traces these changes thematically
from the links between gardens and art; fashion; pleasure; healing;
science; even to war and military gardens. Rather than showing how
gardening has simply reflected changes in society, Brown uses
England's most popular pursuit to reflect these diverse social
changes and historic trends. A multitude of historic and literary
examples are seized upon to illustrate her lively argument.
References move quickly from The Beano to Blenheim House, Barbara
Cartland to Babylon, blending the literary, scientific, esoteric
and popular in one breath. Though detailed and precise, the tone is
wittily serious and wryly amusing with Brown's exuberance surfacing
in descriptions such as here on the sight of pineapples growing in
the rediscovered garden at Heligan in Cornwall: "There is something
far more miraculous about this juicy yellow orb, with all its
chin-dribbling lusciousness, emerging from the chill of a bleak
Cornish frameyard and piles of dung, than about all the
sun-drenched fruits jetted from afar daily to our supermarket
shelves."
For the future Brown looks back to the healing comfort of plants,
citing as an example Monty Don's Snowdrop Garden at Wythenshawe
Hospital designed for parents who have lost a child. Allied with
this is a fascination with Zen Buddhist gardens promising
contemplative fulfilment and of, above all, the boom in organic
gardening which will ensure that we and our gardens will be in a
healthier state than ever. This lovely book interestingly and
wittily makes us aware of the ancient and colourful lineage of
which we are a part. Venerating England's most popular pastime in
the remembrance that "it is this, the simplest and yet most
precious combination of us and our soil that bonds us in the
pursuit of paradise, will all who have gone before and those yet to
come." --Rachel O'Connor
Lawson Park Electronic Library is a Guestroom project for Grizedale Arts, designed and built by Dorian Moore