Strong: Garden Party

This is a collection of essays written by the redoubtable Roy Strong, some of which have appeared in print before. You either love him or hate him and if you fall into the former category, you hang on to his every word. It is a small book that is so perfectly formed that, in an ideal world, care should be taken on where you actually read it. A dreamy late summer's afternoon, sitting in the shade of a Maidenhair tree, contemplating the following year's planting and plans or alternatively, sitting by a roaring fire in mid winter with snow dashing against the windows. One can imagine all this and in reality it never seems to work, the District Line is more probable.

INSPIRES

However, Garden Party should have a place on every gardener's bookshelf. Roy Strong draws on his limitless knowledge of history to present an engaging series of articles. It is full of some very useful information, delightfully written. The reader visits gardens old and new and our appetites for them are whetted by his lucid descriptions. His chapter on Garden Features will inspire many to make plans of green theatres and garden arches. It will give them the courage to use colour more widely on fixed elements and may be the boldness to introduce trompe l'oeil into their plans. Interestingly, David Hicks used a plywood pyramid on a trailer wheelbase, which he trundled round his fields to blot out undesirable rooftops from a neighbouring village. Perhaps he had seen the one Strong mentions belonging to the late Lady Juliet Duff. This was a gothic obelisk in her garden but it was merely a prop but such fun.

QUINCE & MEDLAR TREES

There will, no doubt, be an upsurge in the sales of quince and medlar trees. He cannot sing their praises high enough, both as trees in their own right and the fruit they bear. He has recently introduced raised beds in the kitchen garden at his home, the Laskett in Herefordshire, widely used up until the 18th Century when they all but disappeared. Initially Strong had imagined that they were just a design feature but in fact production is increased dramatically. Each bed has proper drainage, the soil is never trampled on, is better aerated and thus the soil warms more quickly. For that alone, this book is worth its weight in gold.

This is without doubt, an excellent read. Each word has been so carefully chosen that every sentence is almost a masterpiece, albeit sadly let down by some very vexatious proofing errors. The drawings by his talented wife, Julia Trevelyan Oman, add to its beauty.

AD, 6.5.00
*****

Publication Details:
223 pp. Illustrations by Julia Trevelyan Oman. £14.99
ISBN 0 7112 1458 1. Published by Frances Lincoln.
2000

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Other books by Roy Strong on Gardening
The Renaissance Garden in England
Creating Small Formal Gardens
Successful Small Gardens
A Celebration of Gardens
Royal Gardens

Also My Kind of Garden by David Hicks (see Review)