In an English
Country Garden.
Clare Blake
reveals the
magic
ingredients for
a perfect
country cottage
garden.
'If asked to
imagine a
typically
English garden
many people
immediately
picture a
thatched cottage
surrounded by
tall spikes of
delphiniums,
blowsy
hollyhocks, and
sweet scented
climbing roses.
As essentially
English as bread
and butter
pudding, spotted
dick and roast
beef, you will
find beautiful
examples of this
most traditional
of gardens
wherever you go
in Great
Britain. It has
become part of
our national
heritage,
appearing in
paintings and on
greeting cards -
an image of
peaceful rural
life...'
Set In Stone. A brief history of Coada Stone. By
Margaret G. Powling.
'An entry in the
book, Exploring
the West
Country, A
Woman’s Guide,
has always
intrigued me. It
states: “In Lyme
Regis, a house
on the corner of
Pound Street and
Cobb Road was
once the summer
residence of the
Coades. The
façade is
decorated with
the artificial
stoneware,
Coadestone
(sic). “The two
Eleanors, mother
and daughter,
have,
justifiably been
described as
18th century
industrialists
and their
success story
began in Lyme…"
Arts and Crafts Gardens By Gertrude Jekyll and
Lawrence Weaver.
'With classical
Country Life
images and calm
and decorous
prose, the pages
reveal that
dream time at
the end of the
19th century and
the beginning of
the 20th, when
the Arts and
Crafts Movement
had evolved into
country house
architecture and
then found its
most delightful
expression in
the making of
gardens. The
original title
page of this
book indicated a
threefold
pedigree, the
joint authors,
Gertrude Jekyll
and Lawrence
Weaver, and the
publishing
house, Country
Life. All three
are significant,
but pride of
place must go to
Miss Jekyll, for
it is with her
life and art
that this book
is most closely
entwined...'
Water Magic. By Clare Blake.
'Water is one of
the most
beautiful
natural elements
and has the
ability to
soothe even the
most troubled
soul. There can
be few more
refreshing
sounds than the
gentle splash of
a fountain on a
hot summer’s
day, while no
matter how
modest a water
feature the
presence of this
limpid semi
translucent
substance
somehow has the
ability to
create an
atmosphere of
tranquillity
where the dust
and business of
everyday life
gently
evaporates. No
wonder that
water features
have found their
way into gardens
across the
centuries from
elaborate tiled
creations in
Moorish palaces
to Charlie
Dimmock’s
handiwork....'
