Complete English Gardener

An illustration of a knot garden layout from the book

The Complete English Gardener is a practical guide to gardening first published in 1670 by the English author Leonard Meager. The original title is The English Gardener, or, A Sure Guide to Young Planters and Gardeners: in Three Parts.

Historical context and expanded edition

The Complete English Gardener was among many gardening books released after John Parkinson's Paradisi in Sole in 1629. ^[1] It was very popular and went through many editions, ^[2] and was republished as The Compleat English Gardener in 1704 with a supplement, The New Art of Gardening; with the Gardener's Almanack. ^{[3] [4]}

The book's influence extended to the American colony of Massachusetts. The book was described by author Ann Leighton as "the epitome of all the handy books on gardening which were becoming plentiful in a time when books of instruction from those purporting to be experts were greatly in vogue." ^[5]

Contents

The book contains a variety of gardening advice, including how to grow grapes. ^[6]

References

1. Bushnell, Rebecca W. Green Desire: Imagining Early Modern English Gardens. Cornell University Press. p. 74. ISBN   0801441439.
2. Fussell, G. E. The Old English Farming Books From Fitzherbert To Tull 1523 To 1730. Read Books Ltd. p. 72. ISBN   9781473383715 . Retrieved 18 September 2016.
3. Hewins, William Albert Samuel (1885–1900). "Meager, Leonard"  . Dictionary of National Biography . London: Smith, Elder & Co.
4. Wyman, Donald (1988). Wyman's Gardening encyclopedia . Simon and Schuster. p.  523. ISBN   978-0-02-632070-2.
5. Leighton, Ann (1970). Early American Gardens: For Meate Or Medicine. Univ of Massachusetts Press. ISBN   0870235303 . Retrieved 18 September 2016.
6. Castle, Steven (5 November 1887). "Jottings on old garden literature". The Horticultural Times: 300.