The English Garden Room

This book is a tour round twenty-five garden rooms, from the soaring stone-and-glass creations of the mid-nineteenth century, green and lush with leafy vegetation, to their modest modern counterparts, wood-and-glass adjuncts to the house, warmed by the sun and perfumed with the smell of potted plants and flowering climbers.

Each has its special aura: the still reflections of serried ranks of terracotta pots in the Victorian conservatory at Bodnant; the sweet peas amongst the varnished clutter of a showman’s waggon in the leafy shade of the New Forest; the plumbago twining through the chinoiserie details of the ‘crystal room’ designed by Clough Williams-Ellis; the upright piano and tabby cat beside the bust of Queen Victoria in Nicola Bayley’s conservatory.

Some rooms provide spaces for grand entertaining, others a setting for intimate meals amongst the potted lilies. All provide a variety of use and enjoyment – as well as a fierce dedication to the nurturing of plants – which prompts texts from their owners which are a delight to read.

Elizabeth Dickson has chosen a fascinating diversity of garden rooms. 120 colour photographs by Fritz von der Schulenburg capture their varied magic.