United States
£ GBP
Hidcote, created in the Cotswolds by Major Lawrence Johnston - a Henry James American whose circle of friends included Edith Wharton and Bernard Berenson - is one of the most influential English gardens of the twentieth century. It is recognized as the model for most "English-style" gardens and has recently been restored.
First published in 1989, this book was the first study of Johnston and his garden. Now Ethne Clarke, garden editor at Traditional Home magazine and the author of fifteen books on landscape history and gardening, has collected much new, original material that illuminates the creation of the garden and presents Johnston's life in the context of the period that set the seal on England's preeminence in garden design and plantsmanship. In addition to seasonal lists of plants closely associated with Hidcote, the book also features new information about Johnston's other major work, Serre de la Madonne in the south of France, now a French national monument.
Ethne Clarke writes about garden design and history. She lives in West Des Moines, Iowa.
Ethne Clarke has placed Hidcote in context, revealing the tastes of the time, the gardeners and plant collectors whom Major Johnston would have known and places he would have visited .Avid gardeners will savor the chapter titled The Garden in Season that highlights the plants in each garden at Hidcote and ends with an impressive list of plant introductions by Major Johnston. After reading Hidcote: The Making of a Garden, I find it is clearly time for me to make another visit to see the great strides that Britain s National Trust has made in restoring Major Johnston s fabulous garden creation.--Charlotte Frieze
