Gertrude Jekyll

Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932) was born in London and spent most of her life in Surrey. The arts of all kinds filled her life and she was a keen advocate of the Arts & Crafts Movement of 1860-1920. She pursued her interest in painting until her eyesight deteriorated in 1891, at which point she devoted herself to gardening. She went on to become a highly esteemed and influential garden designer after working on her mother’s garden at Munstead, near Godalming in Surrey. She pioneered the use of hardy perennials and colour themes.

Among her 400 garden designs are numerous collaborations with the English architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944). One of their projects was at Lindisfarne Castle in 1906, where the north-eastern coastal conditions were quite a challenge for Jekyll’s ingenuity. However, the photograph above shows part of the gardens as they are today, still providing plenty of colour for visitors to enjoy.

Jekyll also wrote many books based on her expertise, such as ‘Home and Garden’ (1900), ‘Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden’ (1908) and ‘Gardens for Small Country Houses’ (1912), as well as hundreds of magazine articles in which she aimed to show how the garden can be a beautiful asset to the house.

(Image: M J Richardson at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)