I have been collecting books on gardening and horticulture for at least fifty years, amassing over three thousand. Julia asked that I share my favorites and most influential.
Most Cherished
Gertrude Jekyll, A Memoir
Francis Jekyll
Jonathan Cape, 1934
This is the first biography of Jekyll, written by her nephew. What makes this copy special is that it was owned by Katherine White, E.B.’s wife and a well-known garden writer. It contains marginalia relating her garden in Brooklin, ME to Jekyll’s.
Planting and Rural Ornament, Being a Second Edition with Large Additions of Planting and Ornamental Gardening, A Practical Treatise
William Marshall, 1796
This copy was owned by Thomas Lyman. Both Washington and Jefferson owned a copy of these two volumes, but probably the first edition published in 1785. They came with a letter tucked inside written in 1911 to Arthur Lyman by Charles Eliot, President of Harvard and I believe his cousin. Most likely Arthur found the books in the library of his family’s country estate, The Vale, now owned by Historic New England. Eliot tells Arthur the treatise is so rare that even the Harvard library doesn’t have a copy. He goes on to say the work was probably useful in developing the gardens, but was published too late to have influenced the laying-out.
Classic Inspiration
Any book by Christopher Lloyd, Vita Sackville-West, Penelope Hobhouse or Rosemary Verey. The best of the best:
The Well-Tempered Garden
Christopher Lloyd
Random House, 1973
In Your Garden, 1951
In Your Garden Again, 1953
More for Your Garden, 1955
Even More for Your Garden, 1958
Vita Sackville-West
Michael Joseph
The four volumes make a set composed of columns Vita wrote for The Observer.
Garden Style
Penelope Hobhouse
Little, Brown and Company, 1988
Rosemary Verey’s English Country Gardens
Rosemary Verey
Henry Holt and Company, 1996
Contemporary Inspiration
The Gardens of Arne Maynard
Arne Maynard
Merrell, 2015
Nicole de Vesian—Gardening
Modern Design in Provence
Louisa Jones
Actes Sud, 2012
Landscape of Dreams
The Gardens of Isabel & Julian Bannerman
Isabel & Julian Bannerman
Pimpernel Press Ltd, 2016
This is a very brief list of selections that came immediately to mind. They are heavily slanted toward design, as is my entire collection. Although I have a large section providing practical knowledge I have to confess to turning to the internet when I have such a need.
Dennis Fiori