Ruth Scurr

Snobbery in the garden: U and non-U borders

When Richard Sudell began promoting pyracantha, hanging baskets and crazy paving in the 1920s, the backlash from the gardening elite was vicious and immediate

The yellow-and-orange-striped rose Rainbow Niagara – the sort of hybrid tea anathema to the gardening elite. [Getty Images]

  • Behind the Privet Hedge: Richard Sudell, the Suburban Garden and the Beautification of Britain

    Michael Gilson

    Reaktion, pp. 328, £16

  • The Accidental Garden: Gardens, Wilderness and the Space in Between

    Richard Mabey

    Profile, pp. 160, £12

Already a subscriber? Log in

This article is for subscribers only

Subscribe today and get a £30 Amazon gift card if you correctly predict the next US president.

Offer ends in ${days} days ${hours} hrs ${minutes} mins ${seconds} secs
  • The weekly edition delivered, via the Spectator app
  • Unlimited access to spectator.co.uk
  • Spectator newsletters and exclusive events
  • The chance to win a case of Pol Roger Champagne

Read next

Trending

William Atkinson

Badenoch must explain why the Tories deserve power

Kemi Badenoch’s victory was not overwhelming. Her margin of victory was smaller than of any of her Tory predecessors since the current leadership rules were introduced. With the support of 57 per cent of the membership and a third of MPs – similar proportions to what Liz Truss managed in 2022 – her immediate task

Because you read about edith sitwell

Also by Ruth Scurr

Latest

Comments

Join the debate today

Guess the new US president when you subscribe, and get a £30 Amazon gift card.

Already a subscriber? Log in