Civil War and the Royal Garden That Almost Wasn't

I've been reading a lot lately about the 17th century political upheavals in England that resulted in Civil War and the Glorious Restoration. What a chaotic time - rising taxes, social unrest, political disparity, growing national debt, a head of state who was really, really full of himself...(wait, we are talking of England 400 years ago, aren't we? Funny, sounds like another country I know...)

On 30 January 1649, King Charles I was beheaded outside Banqueting House in Whitehall, London. The assembled crowd is reported to have groaned as the axe came down. (British Library)

When Charles I lost control of the kingdom and his head on this day in 1649 and Oliver Cromwell took over as Lord Protector, many things changed that had a direct influence on the progress of garden design in England. The fashion of garden design was a man's purview and men were quite busy fighting, fleeing, or changing political sides to save their own heads to be much bothered about the garden at home. Then there was the rise of the Puritans, of whom Cromwell was one of the staunchest. The Puritans were a deeply religious Protestant faction which abhorred ostentation in any form. They were pretty much the party poopers of the 17th century, even going so far as to cancel Christmas.

During Cromwell's rule the monarchy was effectively abolished although one Cromwell supporter urged him to take the crown saying, "If the thing, why not the title?". Cromwell declined the crown but one thing he did take was land. Royal hunting parks, palace gardens and grounds, even the estates of Royalist nobles and gentry were seized and redistributed to men who served on the Parliamentary side of the Civil War. One of these royal parks was on the outskirts of London near a little hamlet called Kensington.


This 1645 map of London and its environs shows the royal hunting ground of Hyde Park to the west of the city. (mapco)

Hyde Park was recorded in Domesday, the 1086 inventory of William the Conqueror's new possessions, and shortly thereafter became the property of the Abbey of Westminster. Henry VIII acquired the Manor of Hyde when he abolished the monasteries in the 16th century and enclosed over 600 acres as a hunting park. The Keeper of Hyde Park under Henry's daughter Elizabeth was Sir Walter Cope, who lived in Kensington on an estate next door to the park on its western side. He sold the estate to a colleague called Coppin. Coppin built a lovely house, no doubt with lovely views of the park. From him it passed to his nephew then to a family called Finch. The house was renamed Nottingham House after Heneage Finch, the first Earl of Nottingham.

 



Map detail showing location of Nottingham House next to Hyde Park and sketch of what the house may have looked like (after Faulkner, HRP)



The Finches kept a low political profile and came through the Interregnum fairly unscathed but gained new neighbors. Hyde Park had been divided and sold to a handful of Cromwell-supporting courtiers. Whether because of the rapid change of events or because of the properties' location outside the city center where all the excitement was taking place, the new owners didn't develop their parcels and were no doubt left slack-jawed when, in 1660, the people had decided enough was enough and invited Charles's heir, Charles II, back to the throne. This Charles not only restored the monarchy, he restored lands and titles that had been claimed by Cromwell and his cronies. Hyde Park was once again royal ground.

 



Hyde Park lots divided during the Interregnum, also showing the extent of the Finch estate to the west
 (as drawn by WL Rutton, 1905)

For the next two decades the pendulum swung back and fun and frivolity were again permitted in the kingdom. Exiled Royalists returned from the Continent, Nobles and Courtiers again switched sides,  relative peace ruled the land and building began in earnest. Houses were remodelled or built after the style travellers had seen in Europe. Landowning was akin to power and the garden was a political statement. But another political cloud was brewing. Charles II's successor, James II, was too pro-French and pro-Catholic for the people's taste, and his ambitions to be an absolute monarch echoed too much those of his ancestor Charles I. The nobles got twitchy and finally gave him the royal boot in 1688 when they invited his daughter Mary and her Dutch husband William to a joint rule of the land. Daniel Finch, who inherited his father's title and lands, became Secretary of State for William and Mary and was well known to them. 

 

William and Mary c. 1689 (Britannica.com) and Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham c. 1707 (npg.org.uk)
 

At this time coal was the primary fuel and the infamous coal fog of London aggravated William's asthma so the new monarchs began looking for a house in the country. They wanted something within easy distance of the political business at Whitehall but closer than Hampton Court, which Mary wanted to remodel. Meanwhile, the Finches had just about outgrown their house at Kensington (with 10 children and several servants, even a grand country house would start to feel a bit crowded). William found the house and, no doubt its location next to Hyde Park, agreeable and the house was sold to the King and Queen in 1689 when it became Kensington Palace. Expansion immediately ensued and grand new gardens were built by famed nurserymen London and Wise based on William and Mary's Dutch Renaissance garden at Het Loo.

 

The gardens at Kensington Palace c. 1705 (HRP)



Mary's successor, her sister Queen Anne, took 50 acres from Hyde Park to expand the gardens after 1705. Anne's successor, George I, took a liking to Kensington and concentrated on re-doing the house but it was his daughter-in-law Caroline who really took charge of the garden  when her husband became king in 1727. She implemented Henry Wise's plan under George I to expand the gardens eastward by annexing a further 250 acres from Hyde Park. Wise died in 1738 by which time Charles Bridgeman had established himself as a more-than-capable royal gardener and he continued with a plan of his own, honoring Wise's intent, much of which is still on the ground at Kensington Gardens today. At their peak in the mid 18th century, Kensington Gardens were regarded as the greatest royal gardens in the land.

It is Bridgeman who is credited with introducing the Serpentine style of garden design, the precursor to the English Landscape Movement begun by Bridgeman and William Kent and raised to new heights by Capability Brown, itself a politically-motivated response to the changing tastes, fashions, and political allegiances of the time.



Cary's map of 1795 shows Bridgeman's extensive layout of the gardens with Queen Caroline's Temple by Kent (1734) near the Serpentine, and the wiggly paths through the bosquets, then at the height of fashion. (mapco)

For those who enjoy the gardens at Kensington Palace and the recreation offered in Hyde Park on a daily basis, just imagine what London might be like without them. The many parks and squares of London, several of which were and still are Royal parks, are collectively referred to as "the Lungs of London", restorative green spaces in a rapidly expanding and congested city for people to retreat to for recreation and a taste of country air. There's no telling how those courtiers who bought the parcels of Hyde Park might have developed their lands but it's a sure bet the open, tree-filled park at Hyde and the magnificent royal gardens at Kensington would not now exist had the Protectorship continued and the monarchy not been restored when it was.



Google Earth image of London: the parks are clearly visible. What would London be like without them?

 

For those who think garden history is just about the plants and big gardens surrounding big houses, let this be an illustration of the effects and influence that politics have on the design of gardens. In this time of change and unrest in my own country, it'll be interesting to see what direction garden design takes in the next few decades.

*Kensington Gardens are open to the public from 6am daily, gates close at dusk. The grounds at Hyde Park open at 5am and close at midnight all year round. For information on visiting, events, and maps of the parks, go to The Royal Parks website at www.royalparks.org.uk.

I'll be able to say, 'I knew her when'...

Every once in a while I amuse myself by looking at the stats on my blog. This week saw more hits from UK audiences than anywhere else (though there were an equal number of hits from France, Taiwan and Russia!). It makes me wonder if the increase of the UK audience is due to the latest issue of Gardens Illustrated in which my friend Rachael is profiled as one of the up-and-coming garden talents. Rachael, it's all your fault!

Rachael and I met at Great Dixter on a cold, wet spring day a few years ago. I was starting a six-month internship and she was part of a student volunteer group there for the weekend. We sat around the fire after dinner drinking wine and laughing and got on famously. Must be our common heritage, though mine is less immediate than hers, being separated by several generations and a large body of water. She paid me the great compliment of saying I was "so British - in an American sort of way" and has since become one of my favorite people in the world. She is indeed talented, in more ways than gardening, and a gorgeous soul which comes through in her gorgeous photo, I think. And she likes my blog. I would still love her if she didn't, but she does, and she mentioned it in her interview which humbles me greatly.

So for those of you who found me because of Rachael - welcome, and I hope you like it here as much as she does! And thanks to our mutual friend Emma who sent me the page from the magazine. I wouldn't have known if she hadn't because the local bookseller is lame and doesn't carry Gardens Illustrated. Luckily I have a friend saving this issue for me. Time to renew my subscription, I think.

 

 

Bravo, Rach! And thank you! 

Winter Roses Bloom in Pasadena

As I sit by the front window looking at the dismally brown lawn half covered in melting snow with a sky like dirty wool, people are starting to claim their spots on the route of the 124th annual Tournament of Roses Parade in sunny Pasadena, California. They're probably also sunbathing. In a place like So Cal, with its seemingly perpetual Mediterranean summer, I always knew autumn had arrived when the scaffolding for the bleachers started going up along Orange Grove Avenue. And for those of us in the gardening world the saying, "After the parade and before the football game" was a reference to the perfect time to prune roses in the LA area.

1937 Rose Parade pictorial

 

The Rose Parade, as locals call it, officially began, well, 124 years ago by members of the exclusive Valley Hunt Club, who were all wealthy east coast transplants seeking to escape the snowy eastern winters. In the spirit of the English tradition of the hunt, members would stage an annual event on New Year's Day, though in So Cal hunting jackrabbits or coyotes would have been more common than hunting foxes. The chase ended with sports and games at a nearby park. When land values crashed in the 1880's, Club founder Professor Charles F. Holder decided to showcase the region's mild climate by hosting a festival of flowers on New Year's Day, declaring, "In New York, people are buried in the snow. Here our flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear. Let's hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise."



Prof. Charles F. Holder in his study c.1910 (kcet.org)

Club members embraced the idea and decorated their carriages and horses with flowers from their own gardens. The parade, like the former hunt, was followed by athletic games and contests at which point Professor Holder named it the Tournament of Roses. By 1895 it had grown to become such an event that the Tournament of Roses Association was formed to take over operations. Over the next few years eastern US newspapers took notice and people began to travel from the opposite coast to see the spectacle, smell the roses, feel the sunshine and enjoy a break from the frigid winter temperatures back home. In 1901 the first football game associated with the Rose Parade was played and in 1923 a new stadium was built in the Arroyo of Pasadena called the Rose Bowl, which has hosted the post-parade football game ever since.



The 1893 Tournament of Roses Parade (kcet.org)

Pasadena's Rose Bowl stadium a few days before New Year's 2007

After the death of Mrs. William Wrigley Jr. (he of Wrigley gum manufacture) in 1952, the family mansion, Wrigley House, on Orange Grove Ave. (referred to as Mansion Mile by locals) was donated under the condition that it would serve as the permanent home of the Tournament of Roses Association. The house was renamed Tournament House and is still the organization's headquarters.

Fast forward to the present when the Parade has become a national spectacle. Floats are elaborate feats of engineering combining mechanical science with decorative artistry sponsored by private organizations and municipalities. High school marching bands compete for the privilege to march the 5.5 miles route and come from all over the country, along with military and bagpipe bands. Rabid fans of the two collegiate football teams playing in the Rose Bowl descend in droves to cheer on their home team and school colors add to the array of floral hues along the parade route. An energetic rose breeder has even tried to come up with a way of producing roses bearing the school colors of the teams competing in the Rose Bowl.

Colored roses on display before the 2011 Rose Parade

The floats are entered into categories and compete for 24 awards determined by only three judges, often celebrities and media personalities though horticultural experts are sometimes invited. Rules state the exterior of the float must be entirely covered in natural material: no artificial materials or materials that have been artificially colored are allowed. Leaves, flowers, petals, bark, seeds, fruits and roots, both fresh and dried, are used ingeniously to achieve the incredible effects on the floats today, all painstakingly applied by volunteers who work crazy hours to finish the floats by January 1. Most of the roses used in the displays are imported from South America, and growers of other plants and flowers that usually don't bloom even in the warm So Cal winter provide the bulk of the floats' floral decorations. Whole blooms are used fresh in water picks while some are chopped, dried, or ground into powder and applied inch by inch until the float is a botanically clad masterpiece.

Volunteers putting the final touches on Rose Parade floats in one of the parade "barns", 2011

Come New Year's morning, the floats, bands, classic cars, horse drawn carriages, equestrians, and official Tournament pooper scoopers are lined up along the parade route. There is an urban legend surrounding the Parade that says the Parade will never take place on a Sunday and, for that reason, God will never allow it to rain on a Parade. In fact, it has rained in Pasadena just nine times on New Year's Day since the Parade started but participants and viewers alike braved the unusual wet weather each time.

At the end of the parade route in Sierra Madre, the floats are parked so folks can get an up close and personal look at them. I lived barely a mile from the viewing area and enjoyed getting to see how so many natural materials were used to create the colors and textures on the floats.

A poster board displaying a sample of the materials used and what effects they achieve (2007)

White roses and carnations substitute for snow under this brown bear's paws (2007)

Dehydrated lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit slices make up the scales on this bejeweled fish (2007)

Dazzling dragons attack the castle (2007). The turret roofs are covered in Ginkgo leaves and coffee grounds stand in as mortar between the stones

Dried beans, peas, and other seeds create the color and texture on these reptiles (2007)

 

 

Things have certainly come a long way since this first float prize winner in 1893 (kcet.org)

This year the forecast for New Year's Day in Pasadena is sunshine and 62 degrees; perfect Parade weather! It's also the first year in recollection that I haven't been in CA for the holidays and I'm rather enjoying the novelty of a White Christmas and having to bundle up before I go outside. Back here in the snowy south, I'll be watching the parade on the telly in front of the fire and looking for a friend who works at the parade every year. This year, his job is to walk along with one of the marching bands. Hope he'll be wearing some sturdy shoes and sunblock!

In the States, the Parade is shown live on most major networks and cable channels, some of which put it on a continuous loop for the rest of the day in case you're, shall we say, disinclined to get up early. For those of you abroad who might like to watch, there will be a live Internet stream available here.

For parade start time, more information and more awesome historical photos, see the Tournament Association's website. Meanwhile, I'll be looking through garden catalogs and dreaming of spring...

Happy New Year!!!

Happy Poinsettia Day!

Question: What do a 14th century king, an 18th century nurseryman, a 19th century politician and a 20th century Southern California ranch have in common?

Answer: the Poinsettia

Red Euphorbia pulcherrima with its white flowered cousin, Euphorbia fulgens

A showy member of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), characterized by a milky sap in its veins, the Poinsettia is currently the most popular potted plant sold in the US and Canada. The top producer of this festive flora is a ranch in California and very apropos that is, too. Without the traditional white Christmas images of snow-clad conifers and frosty snowmen, Cali had to have something for the seasons. With their bright red bracts, now hybridized to produce shades of white, pink, even orange, the Poinsettia is a natural choice for a warm climate Christmas decoration where the plants can enjoy the holiday season wearing sunglasses and sipping iced tea outside on the patio. Back east, they're strictly indoor plants. It was So Cal grower Paul Ecke Jr. who discovered a way to make the straggly Poinsettia seedlings branch resulting in fuller plants and a flourishing holiday market. It is now one of the most ubiquitous holiday decorations at Christmas time.

Native to the deciduous tropical forests of Mexico, the Poinsettia had been used ceremonially and medicinally for centuries by the Aztecs who called it Cuitlaxochitl (from cuitlatl, for residue, and xochitl, for flower). Montezuma, last king of the Aztecs, had the plants imported to ornament his mountain palace. Today in Mexico the plant is called La Flor de la Nochebuena meaning Flower of the Holy Night because of its association with Christmas. In a South American legend echoing the Little Drummer Boy, a poor girl is saddened when she has no money to buy Baby Jesus a gift. An angel appears and instructs her to gather the weeds growing wild nearby. As her tears fell on the leaves, they turned into brilliant scarlet blooms.

The plant was "discovered" in the early 19th century by Joel Roberts Poinsett (1779-1851), an American statesman, botanist, and physician. He was appointed the first Minister to Mexico in 1825. During his time there he visited the area around Taxco del Alarcon south of Mexico City, an area settled by 17th century Franciscan missionaries. It was then that the plant began to be used in Christian ceremonies and became associated with Christmas. Poinsett was captured by the fiery bracts of the Christmas flower and sent cuttings back to the US where it was propagated and sold, gaining, in 1833, the official botanical name Euphorbia pulcherrima, meaning 'most beautiful'. In 1837 it was renamed to honor Poinsett's achievements in botany and politics but you know how those pesky nomenclaturists are - the name reverted back to the original Euphorbia pulcherrima but the world now knows it as Poinsettia.

Poinsett wasn't just all about politics and plants. As a physician, he also took a great interest in the sciences and was a founding member of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science and the Useful, which gave birth to the Smithsonian Institute (I rather like the original name and would love to know what they then considered 'useful').

So we now know that our 14th century king was the king of the Aztecs and we're well acquainted with Poinsett and the California grower responsible for bringing the Poinsettia to the retail world, but what about the 18th century nurseryman? While researching this piece, I ran across a source that claimed John Bartram, the renown Philadelphia plant hunter and botanist, was the first in the US to sell the Poinsettia under that name. I'm not sure how this is possible since Poinsett sent his cuttings from Mexico to his estate in Charleston half a century after Bartram died. Hmmm...

Bold red bracts of Euphorbia pulcherrima with the delicate white of Euphorbia 'Diamond Heights'

Just goes to show, it pays to cross reference (and know your plant history!).

As if having a plant named for you isn't enough, there is now a day dedicated to the plant! A Resolution passed in the House of Representatives in 2002 to honor Mr. Ecke's contribution to the American economy and to mark the anniversary of Mr. Poinsett's death declared December 12 Poinsettia Day. Today, as you're doing your holiday shopping, why not pick up a Poinsettia and decorate your home with a bit of festive holiday botanical history? And if you live in the southwest, you can plant it in your garden where it can be enjoyed year round (sorry, Easties, back to the hothouse for you!).

A variety of holiday Poinsettias augmented by the silvery foliage of Begonia, rosemary, and English ivy.

A note about toxicity: contrary to popular belief, the Poinsettia is not deadly to humans. The milky sap may cause an allergic skin reaction and you sure don't want to get it in your eyes. Consuming any part of the plant will probably make you ill but it won't kill you. Nevertheless, always keep these and any houseplants away from infants and always teach children to never put houseplants in their mouths.

An Online Garden History Course, Review'd

My first encounter with online learning programs was while I was at Longwood. During a meeting to go over the online platform and how to use it, the instructor asked us what other platforms we'd used in the past. My answer: a chalkboard. I didn't see how an online learning program would fit into the program we were doing given the fact that all of us sat in the same classroom together each day. Why chat via web when we could simply lean over the desk and pester our classmates in person?

As first experiences go, that one left me with a bad taste in my mouth for online learning, so when garden historian Dr. Toby Musgrave asked me to review his online garden history course, I was slightly more than skeptical that it would be as good as a live classroom. I'm pleased to report my skepticism was unnecessary.

my-garden-school.com is a UK website developed by Elspeth Briscoe and Duncan Heather, both garden designers, marketing professionals, teachers, and Internet geniuses. Their goals: "to bring more high quality online training in gardening, prompted by the digital revolution, and to re-energise revenue streams for published gardening authors due to falling book sales."

Oh, this digital revolution. Lucky for those authors, I'd still rather hold a real book in my hands!

Registration is simple, as is setting up a profile and logging in to your course. You are also introduced to your classmates via their profiles and comments. Students in my class came from Canada, UK, Australia, and various points in the US. Most were enthusiasts and at least one fellow student is also a garden historian. And to prove what a small, small world it really is, a fellow Longwood student was enrolled in the course! Once the course starts - generally they run every 4 weeks - each week's lesson is available on the Saturday morning as a video lecture so you see and hear your learned instructor each week. Here's a wee taste for you:





Included in the video are photographs highlighting the lecture topic. Oh, to travel to the gardens illustrated in those weekly lessons! Actually, come to think of it, I have and there is an option on the lesson screen which allows you and your classmates to upload your own photos for bragging and sharing. There is also the opportunity to exchange messages, ideas, and ask for help on unruly technical issues via the discussion forums for each lecture. Virtually like being in a classroom but passing notes under the desk results in a pile of folded sheets at your feet.

Along with each video lesson, which can be viewed at any time during the course should you feel the need for a refresher, there's a save-able and printable transcript so you can refer back and, if you share with me an undying love of paper, highlight specific points and make your own notes. I've printed all the lesson transcripts and kept them for future reference.

But lest this online learning business seem like fun and games, there is a weekly assignment, too. I found the assignments a bit vague, but perhaps that's because I just finished quite a rigorous academic program with very particular parameters. The assignments aren't graded, per se, but the instructor does send you valuable feedback and more points to ponder. What I did like was being able to read my classmate's assignments as others always pick up things you may have missed and have different view points, experiences, and knowledge that can be shared. We encountered a few technical glitches that the site designers are working on as far as the format of files allowed for submission, and the staff have been very attentive and welcomed our suggestions for making things a bit more user friendly. Likewise, Toby is very responsive to questions, discussions, and offering suggestions for further reading, as any good instructor should be.

The lesson content is clear and well illustrated by the images. Toby's lectures are thorough given the 30 minutes - give or take - allotted and cover all the essential points, styles, and players of garden history but there is, to me, one major problem: the course is too short! Four weeks just isn't enough time to cover 3,000 years of garden history in any real depth. What can I say? I'm greedy!

If you're a professional gardener or just a garden enthusiast and want to learn more about the history of this great occupation and it's influence on culture and society but don't have time to read the volumes of garden history books out there and don't have access to a college course - and trust me, there are pitifully few garden history courses out there, an educational shortcoming I mean to tackle in the near future - and want the flexibility of studying at your own pace, on your own timetable, then this is a fantastic course to take. You will be learning with like-minded people all over the globe without the worry of embarrassment if you show up to class in your jammies.

With Christmas fast approaching, why not give yourself or a loved one the gift of learning? The next round of classes starts on Saturday!

For more information, click here or visit www.my-garden-school.com.

Special thanks to Dr. Toby Musgrave for inviting me to review the course. I've just put a couple of his books on my Christmas wish list!