Royalty AND Gardening

In strolling through the library the other day, one of those large, coffee-table type books caught my eye. It was Royal Gardeners: The History of Britain's Royal Gardens by Alan Titchmarsh. A book that unites royalty and gardens - I snatched it up right away.

Unfortunately, there is one serious drawback to reading a book about Royal Gardens: it is January. Nothing will grow here for several more months, and I will never be able to grow half the things they do in England, due to climate (and space restrictions - I, sadly, do not live in a manor or palace!). However, for good fantasy reading about gardens, and as a general history of gardens throughout the ages, it is pretty good.

Titchmarsh looks at gardening through the eyes of the royals: who was interested in it, what styles were in fashion, and which monarchs were gardeners. Many were - several were not and are therefore omitted. The reader only learns about the monarchs ideas of gardening, and does not actually meet any of the gardeners that did the work. I suppose the monarchs can be considered gardeners in that they provided the space for the gardens and possibly even some of the ideas, but the title is slightly misleading in that respect.

It was interesting to see the pendulum swing of fashion in gardening from one era to the next. Gardens swing between a very informal, naturalistic style (think Capability Brown, landscape gardens, Gertrude Jekyll) to rigidly controlled beds and borders (Tudor knot gardens, Dutch parterres, Victorian massed bedding-out plants). I prefer the more informal and natural style myself, and so enjoyed seeing the different interpretations of that form of garden over the years. I was very interested in the chapter on Medieval gardens. This is the genesis of the modern garden, and they look very lovely to the modern eye. They are both structured and naturalistic, and I find them very pretty. I also really like the practice of letting bulbs naturalize in a lawn, and there are several fantastic photos of naturalized crocuses and daffodils.

All in all, the photos of the book provide inspiration. While it would be impossible to create many of the looks at home (space limitations, or degree of formality), a garden can glean grains of inspiration from the beautiful photographs. The book is also packed with interesting garden facts about tools, glasshouses (greenhouses), and plant collection. Many of the plant collectors names were now-familiar friends from my earlier read on the subject. As it is a coffee-table book, I think the main focus of the book was on the photographs, which are spectacular. The writing is less so. Titchmarsh writes in a very slangy, informal, breezy style, which I'm not sure is quite appropriate for the subject. One can write about history in an interesting way without resorting to being flippant. I am not that fervent a royalist that I protest against jokes made at a monarch's expense, but I think a non-fiction book in general needs to be written with a slightly more formal tone.

There is one other problem with the book: Titchmarsh includes a list at the end of royal and non-royal gardens to go visit. Many medieval and Tudor gardens have been restored to their formal glory. The problem here is that now I have 41 new reasons to visit England!