Story of the English Garden

The Story of the English Garden is the National Trust's accessible history of the nation's gardens, sumptuously illustrated and artfully curated. From tiny medieval gardens to vast Georgian parks, from Victorian glasshouses crammed with exotic specimens to the elegant outdoor 'rooms' of the Edwardians and the functional, ecologically aware gardens of today, this book explores the love affair between the English and their gardens for over 500 years. It's a fascinating story about passion – and power and politics too. The book is beautifully illustrated throughout and includes new photography of some of the most influential gardens in the world, including Sissinghurst. Drawn from the National Trust's extensive archives, The Story of the English Garden is the definitive guide to Europe's greatest collection of historic gardens – a rich celebration of World Heritage sites, rare and exotic plants and groundbreaking architectural design. 

‘Informative and entertaining book provides the perfect introduction to the history of our garden making.’ , 'Until now, Jenny Uglow's 'A Little History of British Gardening' has been the best short treatment of its subject, but 'The Story of the English Garden' now supersedes it. This elegant synthesis of existing scholarship is almost as well written as Mrs Uglow's book, but is better on historical discrimination and detail.', 'Sumptuous illustrated guide.'

Award winning writer and garden historian Ambra Edwards is author of the National Trust’s definitive history of English gardens, The Story of the English Garden. Her previous book, Head Gardeners, was voted Inspirational Book of the Year by the Garden Media Guild in 2017. Ambra has led tours to historic gardens in both the Uk and Europe, has been named Journalist of the Year by the Garden Media Guild three times, and her work appears regularly in the Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and all the leading garden journals.