GARDENS THROUGH TIME

From Tudor rose-covered arbours and Victorian plant hunters to the droughtresistant gardens of the future, we dive into the fascinating evolution of horticulture

- Caroline Roberts

One of the perennial delights of spring is watching a garden burst into life. But in admiring their beauty, we often forget that each plant has its own story to tell. The gardens we enjoy today are the product of centuries of scientific discoveries and intrepid journeys, with a fair bit of wheeling and dealing thrown in too.

Details of the earliest British gardens are sketchy, save for the formal planting of Roman villas, the kitchen gardens of monasteries, and the castle courtyards of the Middle Ages. From the 16th century, it’s easier to pick up the threads of the garden’s evolution, and the Museum of the Home has woven them into its Gardens Through Time exhibition, created in the ground of former almshouses in Hoxton, East London.

The journey begins in the museum’s Tudor knot garden, its low hedging of cotton lavender and germander planted in symmetrical patterns, inspired by the intricate embroidery and carvings popular at the time. Other common features of Tudor gardens were rose-covered arbours, providing shade and a private space, and the chamomile seat, where you could relax on a cushion of the springy herb and run your fingers through the tendrils, releasing its delicate scent. “It probably helped with courting as people would have been a bit smelly in those days,” says head gardener, Heather Stevens.