National Trust School of Gardening


Book Description

‘An accessible, informative guide for beginners, but full of ideas and tips for seasoned gardeners.’ – Sunday Mirror Elevate your own green space and become a more confident and creative gardener with lessons from experienced National Trust gardeners in this comprehensive horticultural guide. The National Trust looks after hundreds of beautiful gardens of every imaginable shape and size across Britain – from the grandest country estate to the smallest cottage garden. They manage such internationally renowned gardens as Sissinghurst and Hidcote. National Trust garden staff receive countless questions from visitors about plants growing in the gardens and techniques that can be tried at home. This in-depth guide will pass on their wisdom and provide the answers you are looking for. This book is packed with images of National Trust gardens of all types, spanning over 300 years of horticultural heritage, to inspire keen amateur gardeners and aspirational novices to realise their green-fingered ambitions. Written by expert gardener Rebecca Bevan, with the help of National Trust gardeners, the National Trust School of Gardening will make you feel confident about developing your garden rather than overwhelmed with unnecessary technical detail. From herbaceous borders to gardening sustainably, roses and climbers to growing under glass, each chapter provides snippets of horticultural history, examples of best practice from National Trust gardens, unique gems of wisdom from talented NT gardeners, and lots of easy-to-follow practical advice. Featuring a wide range of National Trust gardens both large and small, formal and informal, famous and undiscovered, high maintenance and low key. The topics covered and the insightful practical guides shared are easily applicable to private gardens, enriching even the tiniest urban spaces.







Technology in the Country House


Book Description

Brings together research on the introduction of domestic technologies into country houses and their estates.




The Good Gardener


Book Description

Create your ideal garden with this indispensable guide from the National Trust. The Good Gardener explains traditional skills tried and tested by generations of National Trust gardeners, including expert advice from the head gardeners at world-famous Hidcote, Sissinghurst and Stourhead, and reinterprets them for the modern garden – large and small. Packed with illustrated handy tips, step-by-step guides and beautiful photography, this book is suitable for everyone from novice through to expert. It covers all aspects of gardening, from the basics through to landscaping and design, pruning and propagation and creating a more sustainable garden. Whether you want to start off with a low-maintenance garden, grow your own fruit and vegetables or attract wildlife, The Good Gardener will help you enjoy a beautiful garden all year round. Chapter outline: Garden basics – soil type, aspect, weeding and digging, plant picker guide of what to grow, where and when; Designing your garden – function vs aesthetics, landscaping, low-maintenance gardening, container gardening and a return to lost styles and techniques; Lawn care and alternatives to lawns; Planting; Propagation; Pruning; Garden maintenance; Grow your own – growing fruit, vegtables and herbs, crop rotation, advantages of growing your own; Greener gardening and wildlife gardening – natural alternatives, how to encourage wildlife, how to deter pests without damaging the environment, beehives and composting tips.




The National Trust Cookbook


Book Description

The National Trust has nearly 200 cafes, and in 2014 they served 3.2 million cups of tea, 2.68 million home-made cakes and more than 600,000 soups. In this cookbook, the National Trust share their hugely popular, tried-and-tested dishes so you can cook your favourites at home. There are over 100 recipes for British seasonal dishes, ranging from classics like Steak and Ale Pie to to newer favourites like Pumpkin Pearl Barley Risotto and Vegetable Tagine. Desserts range from scones (of which the NT sell millions and particularly pride themselves) to Ginger and Satsuma cake and Orange and Poppyseed cake. Many of the recipes use ingredients sourced from the NT's kitchen gardens and farms – and so make the most of the fresh summer peas or autumnal squashes. The book also features recipes that are linked to NT places, such as the hearty beef stew enjoyed by Churchill at Chartwell, Agatha Christie's favourite Lobster Bisque which she ate at Greenway, or the Plum Cake recipe handed down to Beatrix Potter from her mother.




A Castle in England


Book Description

A unique and fascinating series of short stories taking place over five different eras in a English castles past.




Houses of the National Trust


Book Description

This captivating book, fully revised and updated and featuring more NT houses than ever before, is a guide to some of the greatest architectural treasures of Britain, encompassing both interior and exterior design. This new edition is fully revised and updated and includes entries for new properties including: Acorn Bank, Claife Viewing Station, Cushendun, Cwmdu, Fen Cottage, The Firs (birthplace of Edward Elgar), Hawker's Hut, Lizard Wireless Station, Totternhoe Knolls and Trelissick. The houses covered include spectacular mansions such as Petworth House and Waddesdon Manor, and more lowly dwellings such as the Birmingham Back to Backs and estate villages like Blaise Hamlet, near Bristol. In addition to houses, the book also covers fascinating buildings as diverse as churches, windmills, dovecotes, castles, follies, barns and even pubs. The book also acts as an overview of the country's architectural history, with every period covered, from the medieval stronghold of Bodiam Castle to the clean-lined Modernism of The Homewood. Teeming with stories of the people who lived and worked in these buildings: wealthy collectors (Charles Wade at Snowshill), captains of industry (William Armstrong at Cragside), prime ministers (Winston Churchill at Chartwell) and pop stars (John Lennon at Mendips). Written in evocative, imaginative prose and illustrated with glorious images from the National Trust's photographic library, this book is an essential guide to the built heritage of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.




Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life


Book Description

“An enchanting and original account of Beatrix Potter's life and her love of plants and gardening.” —Judy Taylor, vice president of the Beatrix Potter Society There aren’t many books more beloved than The Tale of Peter Rabbit and even fewer authors as iconic as Beatrix Potter. More than 150 million copies of her books have sold worldwide and interest in her work and life remains high. And her characters—Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle Duck, and all the rest—exist in a charmed world filled with flowers and gardens. Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life is the first book to explore the origins of Beatrix Potter’s love of gardening and plants and show how this passion came to be reflected in her work. The book begins with a gardener’s biography, highlighting the key moments and places throughout her life that helped define her, including her home Hill Top Farm in England's Lake District. Next, the reader follows Beatrix Potter through a year in her garden, with a season-by-season overview of what is blooming that truly brings her gardens alive. The book culminates in a traveler’s guide, with information on how and where to visit Potter’s gardens today.




Sissinghurst: The Dream Garden


Book Description

Step inside the world's most famous garden and understand the strength of its attraction in this beautiful and fascinating study. Since is was bought and transformed by writer Vita Sackville West and diplomat Harold Nicholson in the 1930s, this garden has captured imaginations with its unique and intricate design. This unforgettable garden of rooms is influential today for its design, its exuberant planting, and its effect on visitors as a complete garden experience. Author Tim Richardson explores its power and its magic, explaining the nuances of its evolution and shows how we can all enjoy it today. Beautiful photographs transport you to the National Trust property, showcasing it in all its brilliance.




ANTHONY CARO AT CLIVEDEN HB


Book Description

Blain Southern and the National Trust present Anthony Caro at Cliveden (6 April - 10 November 2019), an exhibition celebrating the work of the internationally renowned British sculptor.This lavish publication accompanies the exhibition, the third in a series of outdoor displays at the beautiful National Trust property which overlooks the River Thames in Buckinghamshire.Featuring essays by curator and publisher, Amanda Renshaw charting the British sculptor's career of 'restless investigation and rule breaking'; and by National Trust curator, Oonagh Kennedy providing a reflection on Caro's work on site at Cliveden.Also included are archive photographs of Caro and his work, complemented by stunning full-colour photography of each of the sculptures in situ. Sixteen monumental works by Caro are displayed across the Grade I listed grounds at Cliveden, charting Caro's career and his distinctive approach to sculpture.Installed along the Green Drive, the ensemble of sculptures, including Scorched Flats (1974) and Slow March (1985), accompany visitors on their journey, offering them an opportunity to contemplate the works and their relationship to the surrounding landscape.