Chiswick's Gardening Heritage 'A Match for Chatsworth, Chelsea and Kew'
Gardening Writers will speak at Chiswick Book Festival in September
As Chiswick prepares for a big weekend of garden events, the organisers of the Chiswick Book Festival say the area's historical importance as a centre of gardening excellence has been overlooked. This year's Festival will feature a new book, 'The Hidden Horticulturalists', which reinforces Chiswick's claim to be a horticultural match for Chatsworth, Chelsea and Kew.
“Chiswick House was the birthplace of the English Landscape Movement and has one of the oldest camellia collections in the world” says Torin Douglas, director of the Chiswick Book Festival. “Bedford Park was the world's first garden suburb. And the great Joseph Paxton trained at Chiswick before creating Chatsworth and the Crystal Palace.
“It has now emerged that Paxton was one of dozens of young gardeners trained at the Horticultural Society garden in Chiswick who went on to run the great gardens of England and the Empire. Fiona Davison of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has unearthed a wealth of fascinating information and will talk about her new book at the Chiswick Book Festival on September 15th.”
Flyers highlighting Chiswick's horticultural heritage will be distributed this Sunday June 23rd at the Bedford Park Open Gardens event and at the Summer Show of Chiswick Horticultural and Allotments Society.
The full story is set out on a new page of the Chiswick Timeline of Writers & Books headed 'Chiswick's gardeners: Kent, Lindley, Paxton and the RHS'. William Kent started the English Landscape Movement and John Lindley was an influential pioneer of horticulture, celebrated with a blue plaque in Chiswick.
“The Guardian recently reported that 'Chiswick may be Britain's most literary location' “ says Douglas. “On this evidence, I think we can claim it may also be Britain's most horticultural location!”
The Bedford Park Open Gardens event runs from 2pm to 6pm this Sunday June 23rd as part of the Bedford Park Festival. Tickets can be booked online or bought at St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall, where people can pick up a map of the gardens and have tea afterwards.
The Summer Show of the Chiswick Horticultural & Allotments Society is on Sunday afternoon, opening to the public at 2pm. It's held at the CHAS Trading Hut, opposite Chiswick School in Stavely Road. The prizes will be presented by Rick Stein.
The Chiswick Book Festival will also feature a talk on the forthcoming biography of the celebrated gardener and plantswoman Beth Chatto. Catherine Horwood will be speaking on Saturday September 14th.
See www.bedfordparkfestival.org for full event and booking details
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June 20, 2019