An allotment is a small area of land, let out at a nominal yearly rent by local government or independent allotment associations, for individuals to grow their own food. However, the humble allotment has a surprisingly turbulent history. Initially the right to an allotment was proposed as a charitable means by which the poor could grow their own food and stave off starvation, but it quickly entered political and social debate. During the World Wars the allotment became the focal point on the home front, as families took part in the 'Dig for Victory' campaigns.
The post-war years saw...
An allotment is a small area of land, let out at a nominal yearly rent by local government or independent allotment associations, for individuals t...
Almost eighty years after her death, Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932) is still one of the most influential of all English garden designers. Best known for her superb use of colour schemes in her hallmark flower borders, she combined an early training in art with self taught horticultural skills. Early influences included William Morris, John Ruskin and William Robinson but it is her partnership with the architect Edwin Lutyens that produced some of the most distinctive of Edwardian houses and gardens. From her house (and nursery) at Munstead Wood, Surrey, Jekyll designed over 400 gardens across...
Almost eighty years after her death, Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932) is still one of the most influential of all English garden designers. Best known f...
Contrived, colourful, and cultured, the garden of the Tudor period was a paradise on earth, given over to pleasurable pastimes. Artificiality was the fashion of the age, with clipped and twined plants vying for space between brightly painted woodwork, and patterned beds of coloured soils. Renaissance discoveries reared their head in royal gardens, as traditional _x000B_gold and green heraldic figures mingled with fantastical sundials and glittering fountains. Walls kept out the wild world beyond, whilst mounts permitted glimpses to new parklands, and provided raised platforms for the...
Contrived, colourful, and cultured, the garden of the Tudor period was a paradise on earth, given over to pleasurable pastimes. Artificiality was the ...
Produced by the Ministry of Agriculture, the "Allotment and Garden Guides" were issued monthly throughout 1945. Aimed at the amateur gardener, they were to be the final rallying call in the wartime campaign to Dig for Victory. Concentrating on the productive garden, the guides were designed to take the amateur gardener through the basic tasks of each month. Many of the subjects tackled are as relevant now as they were then. How to make a compost heap, when to sow marrow seed, which seeds are they easiest to save, are still popular topics in the modern gardening media. However, other subjects...
Produced by the Ministry of Agriculture, the "Allotment and Garden Guides" were issued monthly throughout 1945. Aimed at the amateur gardener, they we...
Allotments are a much-loved part of every British city, town and many villages. At the height of their popularity around the Second World War, allotments were increasingly neglected towards the end of the twentieth century, but are now in the throes of a full-scale revival. Many allotments now have long waiting lists, and allotment keeping has become a fashionable hobby. This book explores the fascinating story of the allotment, from its roots in the Diggers of the seventeenth century to the influence of 'food miles' and GM. It includes insights into quirky rules and regulations, murder and...
Allotments are a much-loved part of every British city, town and many villages. At the height of their popularity around the Second World War, allotme...
England is a nation of gardeners and most of us garden in suburbia. A private paradise encompassed by privet, the suburban garden contains in its small compass the hopes and dreams of millions of gardeners past and present. From Victorian shrubberies to the 1980s ‘Good Life’, these small plots reveal the ever-changing aspirations and realities of the suburban dweller. Lauded by estate agents and satirised in literature, suburban plots are scattered with seating, sundials, goldfish ponds, and that most divisive of features: the overgrown hedge. With one foot in the country and one in the...
England is a nation of gardeners and most of us garden in suburbia. A private paradise encompassed by privet, the suburban garden contains in its smal...
