21.10.03
Royal
Gardeners - The History of Britain's Royal Gardens
By
Alan Titchmarsh
"If
you are expecting nothing but regal hearts and flowers, gentle romance
and pastoral idylls, be warned, royal garden history is packed with
intrigue, skull-duggery and dirty doings." Alan Titchmarsh
Long
before gardens became something for everyone to enjoy, they were
the exclusive preserve of royalty and the very wealthy. Royal Gardeners
by Alan Titchmarsh, which accompanies a major new Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TWO series,
takes us on a fascinating tour through the history of these glamorous
and inspiring royal gardens, from medieval times to the present
day.
Only
a handful of these royal palaces and gardens survive today but,
using modern photographs and period illustrations, Alan romps through
hundreds of years of our horticultural heritage and reveals gardens
as diverse and eccentric as the monarchs who created them. From
a humble medieval bower, purpose-built to entertain royal mistresses,
to the overstated grandeur of palace gardens created as a symbol
of power and to outdo our continental royal neighbours, Alan explores
the scale and range of the gardens that were designed for the British
monarchy through the centuries.
Alan's
journey takes in everything from the elegant privy garden and parterres
at Hampton Court, to the grand Georgian gardens surrounding Kew
Palace. Alan also examines more recent gardens such as Osborne House,
Balmoral, Sandringham and Buckingham Palace, before coming right
up to date with the Prince of Wales's idyllic gardens at Highgrove
and his award-winning show gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show.
Lavishly
illustrated using original plans, designs and full-colour photographs
of the major surviving gardens, this is a sumptuous book charting
the many outstanding royal gardens in Britain's past and present.
Trained
at the Hertfordshire College of Horticulture and the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew, Alan Titchmarsh has enjoyed a long career as a gardener,
broadcaster and writer. He is the author of over 30 books about
gardening, including Gardeners' World Complete Book of Gardening
and How To Be A Gardener Books One and Two. Alan has twice been
named Gardening Writer of the Year, writes a regular column for
Gardeners' World Magazine and is also a best-selling novelist. As
the presenter of programmes such as Gardeners' World and Ground
Force, Alan has done much to contribute to the recent surge in popularity
that gardening has enjoyed and was appointed MBE in the 2000 New
Year Honours List, for services to horticulture and to broadcasting.
Published:
30 October 2003
Price: Β£25.00
ISBN: 0563 488972
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