William Robinson Ireland’s Great Gardener.
Title William Robinson- Irelands great Gardener.
Opening: An Old Man remembers Ireland.
In 1936
In the great house of Graveyte Manor in the Shire of Sussex the old Irish garden visionary William Robinson(97) lay dying .The father of the 20th century natural garden movement , he remembered fondly his first experiences as a young garden apprentice in 1852 in the estate of Curraghmore County Waterford. A 14 year old boy ferrying water in buckets from the local river to the green houses. Now over 80 years later he thought of his probable current counterpart apprentice gardener sleeping and working in the same bothy and in a kind of gesture from the 19th century to the 20th he willed his hugely popular book “The English Flower Garden” be sent to him to read . The gesture carried within itself a huge journey, the journey that Robinson had made over his own life time. From a humble apprentice gardener in Ireland to becoming the seer of English gardening and the landlord of a huge estate,1000acres, in Sussex.
Body:
But who was William Robinson? He became the great gardener/ publishing entrepreneur of the late Victorian age and the beginning of the 20th century. He was a kind of horticultural Murdoch for his age..
His book “The Wild Garden” is his proclamation. In it he broadcasts his vision.
“So ,he writes, I began to get an idea that there was much beauty in our native flowers and trees and then came the thought that if there was so much in our own island flora, what might we not look for from the hills and valleys of the countries of the world.”
So Robinson had a vision that a Garden could become a kind of Eden where all the plants of the world could be aesthetically gathered together, not as in a botanic garden as specimens but as a garden masterpiece.
. He promoted a style of gardening informed by Nature. Examples like a drift of daffodils in the woodland or a primrose on a mossy bank.That was the vision.. He preached that gardeners return to Nature as their muse. For the rest of his long life he promoted his philosophy especially in the ground breaking book “The English Flower Garden” which in its seventeen editions up to the 1970’s informed and even bullied, the shaping of many of the great gardens of the British Isles ,especially of Ireland where now the title “Robinsonian” garden is worn as a badge of honour by many of the still surviving great Irish gardens Mount Usher, Fernhill, Annesgrove,Illnacullen,Rowallane,Kilmacurragh.
Irish origins a mystery.
There is no doubt that he was Irish even though there is no definite evidence as to where he was born.
Did he even really start gardening in Curraghmore? About 15 years after Robinson’s death the BBC broadcaster Geoffrey Taylor reported a notorious incident that Robinson was involved in which throws doubts on him ever working even in Curraghmore. The story goes that in the late 1850’s or early 1860’s Robinson was employed by the Reverend Sir Hunt Johnston-Walsh to work in his demesne at Ballykilcavan, situated outside Stradbally, County Laois.
This story was broadcast on the BBC in 1948 and subsequently published in The Listener “Robinson had a sudden quarrel with his employer”. Following their argument, Robinson “felt affronted” and took revenge by drawing out the fires in the furnaces that heated the glasshouses at Ballykilcavan and opened all the windows of the glasshouses .Then, after this act of vandalism he left. It was a bitterly cold night and many of the tender plants perished. The rebellious Robinson walked all the way from Stradbally to the door of the Director of the Royal Dublin Society’s Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, David Moore and threw himself at his mercy. Whatever happened between the two men, surprisingly, Robinson left in exile with a glowing reference which obtained for him a coveted position as undergardener in the Royal Society of London’s Botanic gardens. From then on his gardening career and reputation rose rapidly in his adopted country.
End. Will Ireland Remember?
Now in the middle of 2010,when I first conceived this piece Robinson was forgotten unread, and unloved in England, unlike his disciple Gertrude Jekyll.. I then made a plea that we Irish reclaim and remember him as an Irishman . But then like waiting for one publishing “bus” many came along this year . In England a new major biography was published and then two new glorious editions of “The Wild Garden” were launched in the last few months . If you want a taste of Robinson do one thing. Go. Visit and stand on the Palm lawn of Mount Usher county Wicklow .Look west and there is his garden symphony, a Beethoven symphony, that Robinson dreamed 140 years ago and is now performed daily in Mount Usher . All the great trees of the world, The Tulip tree from the Southern States ,the Umbrella Pine from Japan to the great Southern Beeches of the Andes amongst them all growing and playing companionably together. A site unique and nowhere else to be found on our planet. Nothing like it anywhere in the world. Marvel and remember who composed it. William Robinson, gardener. Maybe a maverick, maybe a man of mystery but an Irishman.
ROY Says:
Buy@Discount.Abilify” rel=”nofollow”>……
Buywithout prescription…
Posted on July 29th, 2011 at 6:58 pm
EDUARDO Says:
Order@Abilify.Online” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buynow it…
Posted on July 29th, 2011 at 7:23 pm
TERRENCE Says:
Purchase@Discount.Abilify” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buyit now…
Posted on July 29th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
SALVADOR Says:
Purchase@Abilify.Without.Prescription” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buygeneric meds…
Posted on July 30th, 2011 at 1:01 am
JEFFREY Says:
Order@Cheap.Acai” rel=”nofollow”>……
Buynow it…
Posted on July 30th, 2011 at 3:19 pm
TRACY Says:
Order@Discount.Acai” rel=”nofollow”>……
Buywithout prescription…
Posted on July 30th, 2011 at 4:59 pm
WALLACE Says:
Purchase@Generic.Acai” rel=”nofollow”>……
Buygeneric drugs…
Posted on July 31st, 2011 at 10:43 am
DUSTIN Says:
Cheap@Acai.500mg” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buygeneric drugs…
Posted on July 31st, 2011 at 4:16 pm
DONNIE Says:
Buy@Discount.Coral.Calcium” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buywithout prescription…
Posted on July 31st, 2011 at 8:59 pm
BRANDON Says:
Buy@Cheap.Abana” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buyno prescription…
Posted on August 1st, 2011 at 11:18 am
FRANKLIN Says:
Buy@Discount.Coral.Calcium” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buygeneric meds…
Posted on August 2nd, 2011 at 8:09 am
EDUARDO Says:
Buy@Discount.Abilify” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buygeneric pills…
Posted on August 3rd, 2011 at 5:37 am
PERRY Says:
Buy@Abilify.5mg.10mg.15mg.20mg.30mg” rel=”nofollow”>……
Buywithout prescription…
Posted on August 3rd, 2011 at 3:58 pm
WILLIE Says:
Buy@Discount.Acai” rel=”nofollow”>……
Buygeneric drugs…
Posted on August 3rd, 2011 at 10:24 pm
KIRK Says:
Buy@Discount.Acai” rel=”nofollow”>……
Buynow…
Posted on August 3rd, 2011 at 11:03 pm
RICARDO Says:
Order@Acai.Online” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buydrugs without prescription…
Posted on August 4th, 2011 at 12:04 am
CHARLIE Says:
Order@Cheap.Acai” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buynow it…
Posted on August 4th, 2011 at 1:47 am
VICTOR Says:
Buy@Acai.Without.Prescription” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buygeneric drugs…
Posted on August 4th, 2011 at 6:35 pm
LESLIE Says:
Generic@Acai.500mg.Without.Prescription” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buyno prescription…
Posted on August 5th, 2011 at 6:08 am
TONY Says:
Buy@Discount.Energy.Boost” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buynow it…
Posted on August 5th, 2011 at 8:00 am
BILLY Says:
Cheap@Accupril.Online” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buygeneric drugs…
Posted on August 6th, 2011 at 4:25 am
SAM Says:
Buy@Cheap.Accutane” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buygeneric drugs…
Posted on August 6th, 2011 at 7:37 am
CARL Says:
Cheap@Accutane.Online” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buygeneric meds…
Posted on August 6th, 2011 at 4:15 pm
ADAM Says:
Order@Aciphex.Online” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buyno prescription…
Posted on August 7th, 2011 at 1:41 pm
BRUCE Says:
Cheap@Generic.Aciphex.20mg” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buygeneric drugs…
Posted on August 8th, 2011 at 11:07 pm
SERGIO Says:
Buy@Generic.Actonel.35mg” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buyno prescription luw…
Posted on August 11th, 2011 at 1:03 am
VICTOR Says:
Generic@Actonel.35mg.Without.Prescription” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buygeneric pills zdg…
Posted on August 11th, 2011 at 2:43 am
DARYL Says:
Order@Cheap.Actoplus.Met” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buygeneric drugs krg…
Posted on August 11th, 2011 at 6:02 am
CLIFTON Says:
Purchase@Actos.Online” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buygeneric meds qmo…
Posted on August 11th, 2011 at 1:21 pm
RODNEY Says:
Order@Cheap.Coral.Calcium” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buygeneric drugs lzt…
Posted on August 13th, 2011 at 2:05 am
JEREMIAH Says:
Buy@Abana.Online” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buynow it tly…
Posted on August 13th, 2011 at 5:59 am
LLOYD Says:
Order@Cheap.Abilify” rel=”nofollow”>……
Buywithout prescription xiu…
Posted on August 13th, 2011 at 2:00 pm
MARCUS Says:
Buy@Abilify.5mg.10mg.15mg.20mg.30mg” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buynow it vhx…
Posted on August 14th, 2011 at 12:30 am
PHILIP Says:
Abilify@5mg.10mg.15mg.20mg.30mg.Without.Prescription” rel=”nofollow”>……
Buygeneric meds svb…
Posted on August 14th, 2011 at 5:17 am
ALFRED Says:
Buy@Cheap.Acai” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buyno prescription wkp…
Posted on August 14th, 2011 at 7:41 am
BRUCE Says:
Order@Acai.Online” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buyno prescription jui…
Posted on August 14th, 2011 at 9:47 am
LEROY Says:
Cheap@Acai.Online” rel=”nofollow”>……
Buyit now sge…
Posted on August 14th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
MITCHELL Says:
Purchase@Generic.Acai” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buydrugs without prescription faj…
Posted on August 15th, 2011 at 12:13 am
VINCENT Says:
Purchase@Cheap.Energy.Boost” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buyit now ojb…
Posted on August 15th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
TRAVIS Says:
Buy@Cheap.Accutane” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buyno prescription tao…
Posted on August 17th, 2011 at 1:52 am
JASON Says:
Get@Accutane.Online” rel=”nofollow”>……
Buywithout prescription ccw…
Posted on August 17th, 2011 at 11:30 am
BRETT Says:
Cheap@Accutane.Without.Prescription” rel=”nofollow”>……
Buydrugs without prescription jlg…
Posted on August 17th, 2011 at 9:45 pm
BRUCE Says:
Cheap@Generic.Accutane.10mg.20mg” rel=”nofollow”>……
Buynow it zdg…
Posted on August 18th, 2011 at 3:10 am
RONNIE Says:
Accutane@10mg.20mg.Without.Prescription” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buygeneric drugs ajd…
Posted on August 18th, 2011 at 5:18 am
BRYAN Says:
Get@Aciphex.Online” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buygeneric drugs nih…
Posted on August 18th, 2011 at 6:25 pm
EVAN Says:
Purchase@Generic.Aciphex” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buydrugs without prescription ygy…
Posted on August 19th, 2011 at 2:17 am
MARVIN Says:
Aciphex@20mg.Without.Prescription” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buynow it lmg…
Posted on August 19th, 2011 at 2:27 pm
NICK Says:
Purchase@Discount.Acomplia” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buynow tqa…
Posted on August 20th, 2011 at 9:21 am
TYRONE Says:
Purchase@Discount.Acomplia” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buydrugs without prescription fva…
Posted on August 21st, 2011 at 8:11 am
LOUIS Says:
Order@Actonel.Online” rel=”nofollow”>……
Buynow fjl…
Posted on August 21st, 2011 at 6:30 pm
ZACHARY Says:
Buy@Cheap.Advair” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buygeneric drugs axm…
Posted on August 22nd, 2011 at 3:51 pm
ALVIN Says:
Buy@Advair.25mcg50mcg.25mcg125mcg.25mcg250mcg.50mcg500mcg.50mcg100mcg.50mcg250mcg” rel=”nofollow”>..< /blo…
Buygeneric meds dxy…
Posted on August 24th, 2011 at 9:24 am
RUSSELL Says:
Buy@Advair.25mcg50mcg.25mcg125mcg.25mcg250mcg.50mcg500mcg.50mcg100mcg.50mcg250mcg” rel=”nofollow”>…< /bl…
Buygeneric drugs vbr…
Posted on August 24th, 2011 at 10:44 am
NICK Says:
Order@Discount.Aggrenox” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buyno prescription lka…
Posted on August 25th, 2011 at 4:47 am
ENRIQUE Says:
coral@calcium.vitamin.explanation” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buywithout prescription…
Posted on August 26th, 2011 at 11:11 am
JOSE Says:
aleve@cold.tablets” rel=”nofollow”>……
Buygeneric pills…
Posted on August 27th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
JULIUS Says:
allopurinol@cheap.buy” rel=”nofollow”>..…
Buyit now…
Posted on August 27th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
RUBEN Says:
coral@calcium.supplements” rel=”nofollow”>……
Buygeneric meds…
Posted on August 28th, 2011 at 6:11 am
greg Says:
Download@pop.Rock” rel=”nofollow”>……
Search rock US Charts…
Posted on September 22nd, 2011 at 9:46 pm
STEPHEN Says:
warfarin zoloft…
Buy_drugs without prescription…
Posted on October 17th, 2011 at 6:37 pm
CHARLIE Says:
do cats carry ringworm…
Buy_generic meds…
Posted on October 17th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
TYLER Says:
stage 3 ovarian cancer…
Buy_drugs without prescription…
Posted on October 17th, 2011 at 9:56 pm
PATRICK Says:
recent advances in cancer breast…
Buy_now…
Posted on October 18th, 2011 at 1:16 am
FREDDIE Says:
the process of methanogens metabolism…
Buy_drugs without prescription…
Posted on October 19th, 2011 at 1:52 am
ROGER Says:
soft food diet ideas…
Buy_drugs without prescription…
Posted on October 19th, 2011 at 6:33 pm
MILTON Says:
tuna during pregnancy…
Buy_generic meds…
Posted on October 21st, 2011 at 2:05 pm
PEDRO Says:
ept pregnancy test…
Buy_generic meds…
Posted on October 22nd, 2011 at 8:25 am
DERRICK Says:
market drugs edmonton…
Buy_now it…
Posted on October 23rd, 2011 at 3:01 pm
JORGE Says:
adult circumcisions and complications…
Buy_generic meds…
Posted on October 24th, 2011 at 11:46 pm
LESLIE Says:
adrenal cancer symptoms…
Buy_generic drugs…
Posted on October 25th, 2011 at 1:25 am
KEVIN Says:
gestational surrogacy…
Buy_now…
Posted on October 25th, 2011 at 2:46 pm
FREDDIE Says:
combination food diet…
Buy_drugs without prescription…
Posted on October 25th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
GORDON Says:
indigestion and chest pain…
Buy_now it…
Posted on October 26th, 2011 at 5:45 am
ALLEN Says:
buying prescription drugs in mexico…
Buy_now it…
Posted on October 26th, 2011 at 7:26 am
ISAAC Says:
ultimate diet pills…
Buy_generic pills…
Posted on October 26th, 2011 at 3:45 pm
ANDRE Says:
blood pregnancy test jacksonville fl…
Buy_generic meds…
Posted on October 29th, 2011 at 12:25 am
HARRY Says:
swollen ankles headache pregnancy…
Buy_generic drugs…
Posted on October 29th, 2011 at 6:21 am
KYLE Says:
decongestants hypertension safe…
Buy_now it…
Posted on October 30th, 2011 at 2:18 am
JORDAN Says:
canine kidney failure symptoms…
Buy_generic pills…
Posted on October 31st, 2011 at 7:23 am
BRADLEY Says:
insulin receptor inhibition…
Buy_without prescription…
Posted on November 1st, 2011 at 8:03 pm
AUSTIN Says:
questions about ortho tri cyclen…
Buy_generic drugs…
Posted on November 2nd, 2011 at 7:42 am
RICARDO Says:
sample tlc diets…
Buy_generic drugs…
Posted on November 4th, 2011 at 8:50 am
DONALD Says:
canine medi cam rx…
Buy_generic drugs…
Posted on November 5th, 2011 at 9:07 am
JORGE Says:
cancer chemotherapy combination drugs…
Buy_generic meds…
Posted on November 5th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
THEODORE Says:
rebound phenomenon during gradual clonidine withdrawal…
Buy_drugs without prescription…
Posted on November 6th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
BRADLEY Says:
kids weight gain…
Buy_generic drugs…
Posted on November 6th, 2011 at 8:07 pm
MICHAEL Says:
100 mile diet store…
Buy_generic meds…
Posted on November 8th, 2011 at 3:47 am
TERRY Says:
social interaction anxiety…
Buy_without prescription…
Posted on November 8th, 2011 at 7:07 am
NATHANIEL Says:
list of anti anxiety drugs…
Buy_generic meds…
Posted on November 8th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
JIMMY Says:
pain relief until root canal…
Buy_generic meds…
Posted on November 8th, 2011 at 7:41 pm
ZACHARY Says:
glucose to insulin ratio metabolic syndrome…
Buy_drugs without prescription…
Posted on November 9th, 2011 at 2:21 am
RANDY Says:
at home diet programs…
Buy_generic pills…
Posted on November 9th, 2011 at 5:41 am
LUKE Says:
interactions with azithromycin and astragalus…
Buy_it now…
Posted on November 10th, 2011 at 11:21 pm
HARRY Says:
how can i lower my cholesterol…
Buy_generic drugs…
Posted on November 12th, 2011 at 3:41 am
STEVE Says:
dog retching vomiting weight loss…
Buy_generic drugs…
Posted on November 12th, 2011 at 7:01 am
MARION Says:
foods with triglycerides in them…
Buy_generic drugs…
Posted on November 13th, 2011 at 1:21 am
ARTURO Says:
space herpes…
Buy_now…
Posted on November 13th, 2011 at 9:41 am
STEPHEN Says:
advisory group on hepatitis uk…
Buy_no prescription…
Posted on November 13th, 2011 at 4:21 pm
DAN Says:
flat warts and probiotics…
Buy_generic drugs…
Posted on November 15th, 2011 at 8:19 pm
ENRIQUE Says:
medicare drugs covered…
Buy_generic meds…
Posted on November 16th, 2011 at 9:39 am
VIRGIL Says:
state of arizona ontiveros drug…
Buy_now it…
Posted on November 16th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
DOUG Says:
remeron dreams…
Buy_it now…
Posted on November 16th, 2011 at 5:59 pm
SHANE Says:
sample ncp for diabetes…
Buy_without prescription…
Posted on November 17th, 2011 at 5:39 am
JIM Says:
fruity taste and diabetes…
Buy_it now…
Posted on November 17th, 2011 at 7:19 am
TRACY Says:
what year was advil introduced…
Buy_now it…
Posted on November 17th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
jordan Says:
Download@pop.Rock” rel=”nofollow”>.…
Buy rock US Charts…
Posted on December 8th, 2011 at 5:55 pm