History of Gardening
From Roman to Mediaeval to Present Day....
Roman
The Romans were the first to start growing plants for
ornamental purposes in Britain and not just to eat.
Timeline
AD 43
The Roman invasion of Britain
c.AD75
The garden at the Flavian Palace, now known as Fishbourne
, near Chichester is started. There's evidence of box planting.
It is thought that this was the first garden in Britain
to feature topiary.
c.AD100
Sweet cherries are introduced to Britain from Greece, via
Italy. Romans are thought to have introduced many plants
to the UK, including box, plums, walnuts, mulberries, vines,
leeks, garlic, parsley, turnips, cabbages and roses.
AD278
Emperor Probus permits the planting of vineyards in England.
c.AD280
to 285
Evidence suggests a 12-acre vineyard is set up at North
Thoresby in Lincolnshire.
c.AD436
The Romans leave Britain. After the Romans' departure, there's
little evidence of gardens until the medieval period.
Medieval
Sadly, no existing medieval gardens have survived in their
entirety in Europe, and historical documentation on gardens
and plants is scarce. Much of what we know is from paintings.
Timeline
c.1087
The Doomsday Book is written - showing ownership of land
and property for the first time.
c.1178
A stained glass window features one of the earliest images
of a garden tool. The image at Canterbury Cathedral shows
Adam delving with a spade and a mattock. A spade with an
iron tip and a wood base became common in the 12th century.
It's one of the oldest panels in the cathedral.
c.1190
De Naturis Rerum by Alexander Neckham is published, which
lists 200 plants. Some of these plants may not have been
growing in Britain - but were encountered during the crusades.
Neckham was a prolific writer and is thought to have made
the earliest known reference to a wheelbarrow.
c.1237
Roman de la Rose is started. It's the most famous literary
celebration of gardens in this era. It was later translated
into English by Chaucer.
c.1340
According to some sources, rosemary was introduced by Philippa
of Hainault, the wife of Edward III. Philippa received cuttings
from her mother in Antwerp.
c.1440
John the Gardener wrote a verse treatise on gardening called
The Feate of Gardening. The verse is considered to be the
first practical manual about English gardening.
Tudor Stewart
The Renaissance movement was sweeping across Europe and
eventually Britain in the 15th century. It endeavoured to
capture the classical arts styles of ancient Rome.
Timeline
c.1492
Christopher Columbus brought back many new plants from the
Americas.
c.1514
Cardinal Wolsey buys Hampton Court and sets about improving
it to impress Henry VIII.
c.1525
Henry VIII is so impressed with Hampton Court, he has Wolsey
arrested and takes it for himself. Later Henry VIII began
to develop Hampton Court to rival Fontainbleu in France.
Work began on the Privy Garden, the Mount Garden and the
Pond Garden in 1532.
c.1528
The renaissance garden at Chateau de Fontainebleau in France
was started. The renaissance style, which included knot
gardens and statues, was to have a huge influence on gardening
throughout Europe.
1534
Henry VIII splits with Rome and dissolution of the monasteries
begins. This dissolution destroys many of the established
herbal gardens, orchards and vineyards that traditionally
had been looked after by Roman Catholic monks.
1564
Aristocrat William Cecil buys the manor house Theobalds
in Hertfordshire, and redesigns the gardens. The formal
garden was modelled after Fontainebleau in France. John
Gerard was the superintendent.
1597
John Gerard publishes his bestseller Herball, also known
as a General Historie of Plants.
1611
Plant hunter John Tradescant the Elder establishes the gardens
at Hatfield House.
1621
The first botanical garden is set up in Britain, The Oxford
University Botanic Garden. The garden is founded by the
Earl of Danby.
1629
John Parkinson publishes the book Paradisi in Sole Paradisus
Terrestris. The book contains descriptions of more than
1,000 plants, featuring 800 illustrations.
1630
John Tradescant the Elder becomes head gardener to Charles
I.
1638
Tradescant the Elder dies and his son becomes the new royal
gardener.
Georgian Regency
Gardening was coming into its own. With it came the birth
of the English Landscape movement and the lawnmower. This
period also produced the inspiring Capability Brown who
came to prominence in the second half of the 18th century.
Timeline
1730
William Kent works on the original garden plans for Kew
Gardens.
1735
Systema Naturae is published by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus.
Carl Linnaeus (1707 to 1778) developed a sexual system of
classifying plants based on the number of stamens and stigma
on a flower. It's still used today.
1751
Capability Brown sets up a landscape business in Hammersmith,
London.
1768
Joseph Banks sails with James Cook across the Pacific to
bring back horticultural specimens.
1772
George III employs Capability Brown to remodel parts of
Kew Gardens.
1788
Humphrey Repton gets his first commission as a landscape
gardener from Jeremiah Ives in Norfolk.
1795
Plant hunter Archibald Menzies brings back monkey puzzle
seeds from South America.
1804
The Horticultural Society was formed, later to become the
Royal Horticultural Society.
1822
John Loudon publishes the Encyclopaedia of Gardening, including
soil-improvements with fish.
1826
The Gardener's Magazine is founded by John Loudon, one of
the most influential garden writers of his time
1829
Nathaniel Ward invents the Wardian case helping plant hunters
transport plants.
1830s
Edwin Budding invents the lawnmower. Before 1830 lawns were
cut with scythes, which was extremely labour intensive and
left an extremely rough finish. By 1858, more than 7,000
machines had been sold.
1834
David Douglas dies on a plant-hunting expedition in North
America.
Back to top of page
Victorian
The Victorian period was celebrated for its progress, invention,
new ideas and discoveries from giant glasshouses to garden
tools.
Timeline
1840
The most popular plants for displays were chrysanthemums,
dahlias and roses.
1840s
James Pulham invents a cement that can be poured to form
rockeries.
1841
Victorian gardener Joseph Paxton creates the glasshouse
at Chatsworth. William Hooker starts his role as the new
director at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Alexander Shanks
of Arbroath registered a pony-pulled mower that cleared
the clippings in 1841.
1844
to 1848
Architect Decimus Burton builds the Palm house at Kew.
1844
The monkey puzzle Araucaria araucana is reintroduced (after
its first introduction in 1795).
1845
Glass tax is abolished, making greenhouses and conservatories
cheaper and more popular. Conservatories, which made an
attractive addition to the side of the house, were used
for entertaining more than cultivating plants.
1847
James Hartley produces good quality sheet glass that's used
for greenhouses.
1848
to 1851
Joseph Hooker brings back 28 species of rhododendrons from
his expeditions to the Himalayas.
1849
Joseph Paxton is credited with bringing the first the giant
water lily into flower at Chatsworth House.
1851
The Great Exhibition of London takes place in Crystal Palace,
designed by Joseph Paxton.
1854
Veitch Nurseries starts to sell seeds of Wellingtonia.
1859
Charles Darwin publishes the controversial On the Origin
of Species by Natural Selection. Darwin also wrote regular
articles for Gardeners' Chronicles and devoted his later
years to detailed studies of plants and the action of earthworms
in the soil.
1860s
Gnomes were introduced from Germany. Sir Charles Isham built
a rockery in 1847 at Lamport Hall in Northamptonshire, which
he filled with gnomes 20 years later. One still survives
- who's insured for £1m.
1861
The Horticultural Society becomes the Royal Horticultural
Society.
1865
Joseph Hooker takes over from his father William Hooker
as director of Kew.
1870
The Wild Garden by William Robinson promotes the idea of
natural-looking planting schemes.
1874
The pesticide DDT is synthesised by Othmar Zeider. DDT is
banned in 1972.
1887
The council introduces the Allotment Act. The council makes
land available at a reasonable rent for the public to grow
plants on.
1895
The National Trust is founded by Miss Octavia Hill, Sir
Robert Hunter and Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley. The Trust was
set up 'to act as a guardian for the nation in the acquisition
and protection of threatened coastline, countryside and
buildings'. The first women gardeners are employed at The
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
1897
The Victoria Medal of Honour in Horticulture, is established
by the RHS. The medal is awarded to people who've made an
important contribution to gardening, such as Alan Titchmarsh
and Christopher Lloyd.
Edwardian
Edwardians craved a rural idyll to capture the romance of
the countryside within the confines of the ever-expanding
urban and suburban landscape. It was a period of prosperity
and this was reflected in the exuberant gardening styles.
Timeline
1902
The first horticultural college for women is opened: Swanley
College for Women.
1907
to 1948
Lawrence Johnston creates Hidcote Manor in Gloucestershire.
1903
The RHS acquires Wisley garden in Surrey.
1908
Colour in the Flower Garden by Gertrude Jekyll is published.
1913
The first RHS Chelsea Flower Show takes place.
Back to top of page
WWI - World War 1
Timeline
1914 to 1918
Many gardeners went off to fight in World War I, abandoning their gardens. The garden staff of many stately homes was severely depleted when men went off to fight.
1918
to 1921
Large gardens were expensive to run, so many people were
forced to divide them up.
1919
The ninth Duke of Devonshire blows up the glasshouse at
Chatsworth House. The greenhouse became too expensive to
run due to wartime fuel shortages and high maintenance costs.
1926
Andreas Stihl develops the first chainsaw.
1927
The first case of Dutch elm disease is recorded.
1930s
Vita Sackville-West and her husband buy Sissinghurst Castle
and start to transform the gardens.
1934
Lawns were dug up in World War II to grow crops for rations.
1939
Mr Middleton begins to broadcast his 15-minute gardening
series on the radio.
1941
A million acres of potatoes were grown to help the war effort.
Modern
Modernism blended urban, public places and new housing estates
with the older, more naturalistic form of gardening. Gardening
became the nation's most popular pursuit.
Timeline
1948
Hidcote Manor is the first place to be taken on by the National
Trust on the merits of its garden alone.
1955
Landscape gardener Thomas Church publishes Gardens are for
People. The American landscape designer pioneered a 'Californian
style', which included the use of raised beds and decking.
His style was to have an enormous influence in Britain.
1959
The National Association of Flower Arrangers' Societies
(NAFAS) is founded. Today NAFAS boasts more than 10,000
members, making it one of the most popular specialised associations
in the UK.
1962
The designer Russell Page writes Education of a Gardener,
a hugely influential book which is still considered to be
an authority on garden design.
1963
Karl Dahlman produces the first hover mower. It was made
of plastic, making it light and easy to use.
1965
The Garden History Society is founded.
1968
The first Gardeners' World programme is broadcast.
1969
The designer John Brooks starts a fashion for using small
urban gardens for entertaining.
1974
Fisons invents the first growing bag. This bag enabled people
living in tower blocks who had a balcony to grow fresh produce.
1975
The Landscape of Man by Geoffrey Jellicoe is published.
1977
The Museum of Garden History opens in Lambeth Palace Road,
London.
1978
The RHS forms the National Council for the Conservation
of Plants and Gardens. The NCCPG aims to conserve, document,
promote and make available Britain's great biodiversity
of garden plants for the benefit of horticulture, education
and science.
Back to top of page
Contemporary
What does the future hold for gardening? Designs continually
evolve to suit forever changing lifestyles. Bold designs,
modern materials and conservation are currently the order
of the day.
Timeline
2000
The Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst Place is opened. The
bank conserves over 24,000 worldwide species. The coco de
mer, or the double coconut, from the Seychelles, is the
largest nut in the world.
2001/2
Creation of the Eden Project. The Eden Project's groundbreaking
domes, which are built in a Cornish clay pit, house a collection
of Mediterranean and tropical plants.
2003
Monty Don becomes the new presenter of Gardeners' World.
2004
The RHS celebrates its 200th anniversary with the creation
of seven gardens at RHS Harlow Carr.
Courtesy of the BBC 'Gardening History' timeline. Credits and photograph suppliers, 'here'.