The Great Edwardian Gardens of Harold Peto: From the Archives of Country Life [Hardcover]

Another lusciously illustrated book drawing on the vast archives of Country Life and using the same format of earlier books drawing on the same archive (for example Kathryn Bradley-Hole's 2004 Lost Gardens of England). However by concentrating on the work of one designer Robin Whalley is able to combine a biography of his subject and the elements that made up his designs, with a rich review of the sites at which Peto worked. The biography in Section 1 is an excellent overview of the life and travels of Harold Peto, giving excerpts from his travel diaries, carefully illustrated by contemporary photographs of the sites Peto visited. A single sketch drawing from the diaries is reproduced, perhaps acting as a rather tantalising hint at what lies outside the Country Life archives, but given the quality and range of the other illustrations it would be churlish to have expected Country Life to go outside their own archive. Having given an overview of the designers life and influences, in Section 2 Robin Whalley then goes on to examine key elements which Peto used in his designs, Rotundas and Pergolas, Bridges, Canals and Pavilions. In each case he draws on specific sites to illustrate these features, including Buscot Park (Oxon), Easton Lodge (Essex), Hartham Park (Wilts) and Bridge House (Surrey) and the less well known Petwood (Lincs). Although it might be thought difficult to stick to the remit of, for example, pergolas, when discussing a whole garden, in many instances Peto's contribution to a garden design consisted exactly of those one or two elements, and so this section works without any of the confusion and overlap which might otherwise have been expected. The final section of the book takes as its theme individual gardens, rather than design elements, including his many Riviera gardens, and his most famous work, Iford Manor. Also included is Ilnacullin, Garinish Island, Ireland. A fascinating site, and undoubtedly deserving of being included in the book, it nevertheless sits rather oddly as for some reason Country Life appear not to have recorded the garden in its early days, so that the photographs used are a combination of modern colour and a single 1920s colour shot. Colour appears earlier in the book as well, to illustrate West Dean, Sussex, and in both cases it has a strangely jarring effect in what is otherwise a monochrome book entirely redolent of the Edwardian period that forms its subject. Although the original Country Life articles on the various gardens were obviously consulted by Whalley, he makes it clear that he has, where possible, re-visited the sites and considered both the original planting and subsequent alterations, questioning for example whether the roses currently on the balustrade at Heale are the same varieties that would have been planted originally, and recording the filling in of the canal at Hartham. This book is not only an excellent record of many of our best Edwardian gardens (some surviving, some lost) but also a thorough review of the work of one of the periods most eminent designers. As with all these `Country Life Archive' publications it is also a joy to hold, and to lazily turn the pages. I recommend that once purchased and read for its academic content, it is left lying on a table near a comfortable chair and gently perused preferably in a languid Edwardian style. Do not neglect to turn the final page where, hidden beyond the index, is a photograph of Peto himself doing the same thing on a suitably Italianate seat!

A treasure trove of period illustrations, with an informative text, a great book for anyone who looks at or designs gardens with a discerning eye.