A Little History of British Gardening

by Jenny Uglow

Did the Romans have rakes? Did the monks get muddy? This lively history of gardening in Britain takes us on a tour from the thorn hedges around prehistoric settlements to the rage for decking and ornamental grasses today. It tracks down the ordinary folk who worked the earth-the apprentice boys and weeding women, the florists and nursery gardeners-as well as aristocrats, grand designers, and famous plant hunters. Colored by Jenny Uglow's own love for plants and brought to life by many vivid illustrations, it not only deals with flowery-meads, grottoes and vistas, landscapes and ha-has, parks and allotments, but also tells you, for example, how the Tudors made their curious knots, how housewives used herbs to stop freckles, and how the suburbs dug for victory in World War II. This is a book to put in your pocket when planning your ideal green space-and to read in your deck chair with a glass of cold wine, when deadheading is simply too much.

Genres: History, Gardening, Nonfiction, Horticulture, Historical

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Jennifer Sheila Uglow OBE (née Crowther, born 1947) is a British biographer, critic and publisher. The editorial director of Chatto & Windus, she has written critically acclaimed biographies of Elizabeth Gaskell, William Hogarth, Thomas Bewick and the Lunar Society, among others, and has also compiled a women's biographical dictionary.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a treat! I’ve had this checked out from the library several times before but this was the magical right time. Since I’ve been reading a history of Britain, it tied right in and I recognized a few things only because I’ve been slowly reading that other history book. But gardens! 😍 Why are the British so good at gardening? This book doesn’t explain that per se but it does glory in all the intricate history of gardening and how much it’s changed and shifted and ebbed and flowed in 2,000 years. I’ve been to England twice and something about an effusive cottage garden speaks to something in my very being. It’s the abundant beauty and goodness of God in a feast for the senses. Jenny Uglow’s enthusiasm comes through even when she’s puzzling over bizarre fads in Restoration gardening (colored gravel??). I learned so much and will probably get my own copy so I can underline my favorite chapters, which were about monastic gardening and post 1800 gardening. Now I’m spurred on to read more garden writing!

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very pleasant read in the dead of winter. My favorite moment:Lord Egremont builds, at vast expense, a glass house so he can raise banana trees.
The first fruit is harvested, he slices into it with a golden knife and fork, takes a bite and says, as he sweeps the plate and cutlery off the table, "DAMN IT! It tastes just like every other banana!" Glass house dismantled, tree destroyed. The cost of that one banana? Three thousand pounds.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been on my shelf some ten years and I decided to read it and then pass it on. That's not going to happen because it is a delightful book. I shall look more carefully at gardens in future, trying to discern their pasts.

[Jemima Pett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jenny Uglow has done splendid work in delving deep into the history of gardening and displaying it in all its twists and turns, or meanders around the shrubberies, or walks in the park.

However 'Little' history is a misnomer, and what was interesting when it was the Romans and Saxons, had become repetitive by midway through the book when we were already past the Regency period. This left the majority of the rest of the book to the Victorians. Yes, it was amazing the places they went and the things they brought back, but in the telling it became simple repetition with a few different names thrown in here and there.

It does become obvious that everything in garden goes around in circles, so that while the upper classes move onto bedding, the lower classes are thinking wild and interesting. Then they discover that bedding is what the upper classes are doing, and when the toffs notice, they start another trend, perilously close to wildflower gardening...

And as that's been going on since the 1700s, and it's still going on now, it's made me somewhat depressed about my own garden.

Most of Jenny Uglow's books I've read have been sparkling and to the point. This one is tedious, and rather long. Shame. I'll look more carefully before I get the next one of hers on my TBR list.

[Sophy H]

I'm going to leave this book unrated.

The writing is great and the book describes a very thorough history of gardening in Britain. It is too similar however to a book I read recently from the library, therefore I've skim read huge swathes of text and skipped some chapters that were a little too dense. For this reason, I'll leave it unrated as I don't feel I can provide a fair rating.

Recommended if you're interested in this subject.

[Karen Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jenny Uglow is a wonderful writer. No matter the topic, she writes with enthusiasm and warmth. She has a real knack for bringing to life persons from the past, based on exhaustive research. I will continue working my way through as many of her histories and biographies that I can find, no matter the subject. Who knew a history of gardening could be so fascinating?

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Jenny Uglow's biographies of George Eliot and Elizabeth Gaskell, so I'd been looking forward to reading her new book, A Little History of British Gardening, and wasn't disappointed - it's delightful. Uglow traces British gardening from Roman times down through today, looking at gardens large and small across social classes. The book is elegantly written, well researched, and beautifully illustrated with a plethora of black-and-white illustrations accompanying the text as well as several sections of color plates. Uglow's love of gardening pervades the book, and she supplies lots of colorful examples and anecdotes. I adored the Victorian Lord Egremont, who spent lots of money on a greenhouse to grow bananas:

"But when he tasted the first home-grown one, peeling it with a golden knife and impaling a sliver with a golden fork, he flung 'dish, plate, knife, fork and banana on the floor and shouted, "Oh God, it tastes just like any other damn banana!"' The offending tree was summarily destroyed and it was estimated that the single banana cost some £3000."

I could quote many more delightful bits, but really you should just go and read the book yourself, if you've any interest in British history or in gardening.

[Lillian Marek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is such a pleasure to read, so vividly written and full of charming (and relevant) anecdotes, that it is easy to overlook how informative it is. People can probably get through life without ever delving deeply into the topic of British gardening, but it provides a fascinating window on ordinary life over the centuries.

[Marjorie Hakala]

One of these days, I swear I'm going to read SOMETHING from my GR to-read shelf.

[Maria Rosanna Ioannou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book!

[James Askari · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a treasure-trove of detail but it may be in the nature of the subject--the history of gardening in Britain from Roman times--not to lend itself to conspective treatment. Certainly, I missed--somewhere other than the index, perhaps--a statement of the sort, 'parterres were popular in this period, landscape gardening in this, herbaceous borders in this, etc.'. Uglow warms to her theme and manages a variety of persons, circumstances and cultural trends better from the mid-Victorian era on, where gardening becomes more recognisably a suburban and middle-class pastime.

[Farah Mendlesohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant enough read. V little I’ve not come across before. Best bits were the Romans and the garden women at Kew.

I love Uglow as a writer so when I say this is one of her weaker books, that still places it as a v good read.

[John Boyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and well written, easily read journey through British gardens from the Romans to the Britons.

[Nanny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable, informative history. I looked forward each early morning getting up and reading a chapter and looking up various gardeners and gardens mentioned.

[Lora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great comprehensive account of British gardening thru millenia, centuries, and seasons. I love Jenny Uglow.

[Michael Pennington · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit over written

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reads well in some places but too often comes across as just a well researched daisy chain of associated references. There's enough interesting material to keep you reading, especially on the Roman and Medieval periods, ironically.