AN ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH GARDEN

Allen Lane, £25

ISBN 978-0241235577

A compellingly readable manifesto for the proper recognition of the huge economic value and technological impact of the English garden. Reviewer Marian Boswall is a garden designer.

The starting point for Floud’s book is a simple one: how much did an English garden cost, from the Restoration onwards?

Deconstructing the multifaceted aspects of a garden’s design, construction and maintenance lays bare the sheer scale of our national ‘hobby’ in terms of employment of designers, growers, skilled gardeners, contractors and manufacturers. The story ranges from tales of aristocratic extravagance to public parks and local allotments. Floud uses a clever but common-sense method to compare costs through the ages that brings home the vast investment in gardens and landscapes, from the years 1660 to 1700 when the equivalent of over £1.5 billion was spent on palace gardens to the current £27-million annual budget for London’s Royal Parks, and 18,500 acres devoted to public allotments in 1980.

Within this tally, Floud also details the industry’s under

recognised impact on innovation. From Joseph Paxton’s use of glass at Crystal Palace, to the combustion engine and hydroponics, the horticultural industry continues to have a far-reaching impact on research and invention.

This book will sit alongside classics such as Charles Quest-Ritson’s The English Garden and Tom Turner’s philosophical Garden History, providing an accessible, data-driven economist’s view that may finally compel our politicians and business people to understand the importance of the English garden.

This book adds gravitas to the many voices of natural reason within the industry trying to rebalance the way we live with sustainable life on Earth. Let’s hope our leaders listen and our economy-driving landscape makers can focus their skills and insight to drive the innovation needed to clean up the planet.