William Robinson

William Robinson was an influential gardener and writer, whose ideas about wild gardening helped popularise the English cottage garden style. He championed naturalistic plantings of hardy perennial plants, that contrasted against the Victorian style of formal patterns of tender bedding plants. In 1871 he launched his own magazine, titled The Garden. He was friends with Gertrude Jekyll, who provided plants for his garden at Gravetye Manor in Sussex. The Lindley Library holds first editions of his books, The Garden magazine, and papers relating to work carried out at Gravetye and correspondence with Robinson’s wide network, including Charles Darwin, John Ruskin, Joseph Chamberlain, Ellen Willmott and Gertrude Jekyll. The art collection also includes drawings by Henry Moon, who Robinson commissioned to illustrate editions of The Garden magazine.