Gardeners 1650-1850

by Val Bott on 01/08/2010 · 0 Comments

presenting the inventive nursery gardeners of Brentford, Chiswick and nearby Middlesex Parishes, 1650-1850

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A Bequest to the weeder woman

by Val Bott on 07/09/2019 · 0 Comments

I first came across weeder women in 2006 – they were working in the gardens of the Chiswick manor of Sutton Court in the 1690s and early 1700s. In the accounts kept by Lord Fauconberg’s steward they were paid six pence a day. The women were rarely named, as payment was usually made within the […]

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The Willow Business

by Val Bott on 20/06/2019 · 0 Comments

Baskets and willow hurdles for sheltering plants from wind and frost were an essential part of the gardener’s equipment. Willow basketwork came in many shapes and sizes: river fish traps, garden seats and arbours, bird cages, containers for for various fruits to protect them in transit, fine baskets for shopping and needlework. Willow growing and […]

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Pleasure Gardens & Pineapple Stoves: Gardeners at Chiswick House 1700-1850

by Val Bott on 07/05/2019 · 0 Comments

I will be talking about Chiswick House gardeners in the past at 11.30am on Sunday, 19 May, a Chelsea Fringe event and the first open day of the year in the Chiswick House Kitchen Garden. Admission is free You can meet the Chiswick House gardeners of today, and there will be a beekeeping demonstration, a […]

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The Gardens of Gunnersbury, 6.30pm, 10 December 2018

by Val Bott on 12/11/2018 · 0 Comments

As one of the London Parks & Gardens Trust’s Winter Lectures Val will be presenting the story of the gardens at Gunnersbury Park in West London. Val is co-author with James Wisdom of Gunnersbury Park: the Place and the People (Scala Publications). The historic core of the gardens was created for Sir John Maynard’s Palladian […]

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