A million first steps
As you might expect, the British Library has an extraordinary wealth of archive material, including much that is essential study for the serious landscape historian. Its strap line, with some … Continue reading
Edens beyond the razor wire
The Royal Horticultural Society’s monthly members’ journal The Garden is a predictable mix of plant profiles, gardening tips and lists of UK gardens to visit. It is glossy and pleasant … Continue reading
Restoring decadence
Decadence is defined as moral or cultural decline as characterised by excessive indulgence in pleasure or luxury. In terms of Mughal design, Safdarjung’s Tomb in Delhi is a fine example … Continue reading
Architecture enhancing nature
Joseph Allen Stein was a twentieth century American architect who spent much of his professional life in India. I have written before about his work at the India Habitat Centre, … Continue reading
Book review: A World of Gardens
Landscape history is a fast-growing academic field (excuse the pun), with new university courses being set up and increasing numbers of conferences arranged and books published. But there are still … Continue reading
Paris post-script
My visit to Paris this summer revealed some odd goings-on at the venerable parc Monceau, in the heart of the city. Originally created in the 18th century as a flamboyant … Continue reading
A car wreck of a park?
Parc André Citroën in the southwest of Paris was created just twenty years ago, on the site of an old car factory. The only park in the capital with frontage … Continue reading
Faith in the future
Born from the trauma of partition, the northern Indian city of Chandigarh, in the Himalayan foothills, was designed as a model city and a decisive break with India’s colonial past. … Continue reading
Field Trip
Posts from landscapelover now feature on Google’s new app Field Trip. This seems to me a nifty concept that allows information about local places to pop up on your phone … Continue reading
Faroese landscapes
Today I am delighted to introduce a guest post on the landscapes of the Faroe Islands, the archipelago that lies roughly midway between Iceland, Norway and Scotland. Its author, Jacqui … Continue reading
Plant Hunting in Kashmir
I am delighted this month to have co-authored an article in Soiled and Seeded, a splendid on-line garden magazine that aims to provide “a rich and eclectic source of ideas, learned practices, history and … Continue reading
Celebrating Dan Kiley
As regular readers will know, I am a great fan of the work of the US designer Dan Kiley. His spare, modern parks and gardens arguably made him the finest … Continue reading
Eco-grazing in Paris
Or éco-pâturage à Paris, in the more elegant French description. I really want this to work. As a pilot scheme, the Paris parks department has installed four sheep in the … Continue reading
400 years of Le Nôtre
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the birth of André Le Nôtre, and the great designer is being honoured with an exhibition at the Tuileries in Paris and at … Continue reading
Northumberlandia
It’s been described as a pagan love goddess, a gesture of environmental stewardship, the largest human figure in the world, an abstraction of the Cheviot hills, a recumbent partner of … Continue reading
Herterton House
Herterton House is a one-acre gem of a place in Northumberland. It has featured on the BBC’s Gardeners World and in national newspapers, and yet remains much less well-known than … Continue reading
The Shakespeare of gardening
The year 2016 will mark three hundred years since the birth of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, and plans are being put in place to celebrate this greatest of England’s landscape designers. … Continue reading
