Why read The Pleasure Garden?

Book cover of The Pleasure Garden: An Illustrated History of British Gardening

Book description

First published in 1977, The Pleasure Garden is an entertaining and concise history of English gardening by husband and wife team Osbert Lancaster and Anne Scott-James. In a series of beautifully observed and witty cartoon illustrations Osbert Lancaster captures the essence of gardening styles from Roman times through to the…

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Ancient Rome

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Design

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Pleasure Garden as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Natasha Goodfellow

Author

This is a book with a spring in its step. A lively romp through the history of British gardens from the Romans to the city patio garden, it is highly illuminating and bursts with amusing facts and anecdotes. I particularly enjoyed learning about Canon Ellacombe, an avid plant collector and angler, and chuckled to hear that architect Sir William Chambers complained of the Landscape Movement "that whole woods had been swept away 'to make room for a little grass and a few American weeds'." Even if you don’t read a line, Osbert Lancaster’s witty illustrations ably sum up the various…

From Natasha's list on making you want to visit more gardens.