The Art of the Devon Garden, a fresh and innovative approach which opens up new ways to appreciate the garden history of Devon.
 
As the art of gardening developed, so too did the depiction in art of those plants and gardens. This study comprises 677 historical images, some created in glass, pottery, fabric, wood and stone as well as on paper and canvas – illuminated manuscripts, medieval vestments, Jacobean carved wood, Georgian porcelain and Victorian stained glass are just some of the surprising forms which are examined. Many images have never been reproduced nor are known except to specialists.
 
The art has been brought together from private collections as well as from archives, museums, libraries and other institutions in England and the United States. Obscure and unknown artists are included as well as some of England’s leading figures such as Francis Danby, Nicholas Hilliard, William Morris, Joshua Reynolds & J. M. W. Turner.
 
Some of today’s most popular gardens are featured as well as others which have long vanished. Elizabethan herb gardens, seventeenth-century formal parterres, Georgian Picturesque landscapes and Victorian herbaceous borders are all expressed through art. The result is a visual history of Devon’s gardens.