Short description
The life and career of the woman the new York Times has called The Green Goddeess of English Gardens?high priestess of historic garden design.
Long description
Lady Salisbury has been a gardener since, as a child in the 1930s, she cultivated tiny patches of her parents' gardens in Ireland and the West of England. Later, as chatelaine first of Cranborne Manor and then of Hatfield House, she revived two of the great historic gardens of England. And then there the gardens that, as a professional garden designer, she has created for others, notably for the Prince of Wales at Highgrove and for the Museum of Garden History and Cosby Hall in London ('As a gardener who has lived the greater part of her life in Tudor and Stuart houses, to be asked to design a garden for an Elizabethan palace was an enjoyable challenge'). Renowned for her depth of scholarship and her design skill, she has also led the way in as a pioneer of organic gardening ('when I began, in 1948, I was written off as a complete crank'). Now in her eighties, she not only continues to tend her garden in Provence, she is also making a roof garden ('the first I've ever done') for her house in Chelsea, and designing gardens for clients in England, Ireland, Italy and the United States. This book encapsulates her gardening experience. This book is written by one of the greatest gardeners of our time. It is a lively, anecdotal account of her life and her experience as a gardener. It passes on gardening knowledge acquired over a lifetime. It includes invaluable gardening information and useful tips. It is illustrated with evocative photographs by Derry Moore.
Review
'The Green Goddess of English gardens... high priestess of historic garden design' The New York Times 'The greatest gardener of the twentieth century' Sir Roy Strong 'Her knowledge is phenomenal, her taste is exquisite, and her enthusiasm boundless.' The English Garden 'I doubt if anyone else alive has done quite so much now over quite such an area. Some of her passing comments are worth whole handbooks of theoretical advice.' Robin Lane Fox, Financial Times