I really enjoyed reading this book which in a sense was my introduction to John Ruskin. While it is important to acknowledge that David Ingram's book is not a guide to Ruskinian ideas, I could have / would have benefited from seeing more of them clearly expressed in the book and how they applied to current gardening and the gardens at Brantwood.

It is wonderfully illustrated with both historic and current photos, An index would have been really helpful but probably funding didn't stretch to that. Certainly David Ingram's guidebook has opened my eyes to the importance of John Ruskin and helped me to discover the work of the Guild of St George. ( )

David Ingram, a British scientist, botanist and horticulturalist, with an astounding number of qualifications in his field - "OBE, VMH, FIHort, FRSE, former Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, RHS Professor and Master of St Catharine's College, Cambridge" and "current Honorary Professor at the Universities of Lancaster and Edinburgh" - was working on an exhibition of Ruskin's botanical illustrations, and thought it appropriate to visit the site of the artist's home for the last 28 years of his life, the house and grounds of the Brantwood estate, located on the shore of Coniston Water, in the heart of Cumbria's Lakes district.

Ingram "fell in love at first sight" with the natural beauty and creative landscaping of Brantwood, and was disappointed to find that there was no guidebook to the grounds. He offered to write a small leaflet himself, a small thing of perhaps eight pages or so; what resulted instead was this 120-page guidebook detailing the Brantwood garden's historical past and ever-evolving present.
Ingram has deliberately omitted discussion of John Ruskin's life, work, and philosophy, as this would be a life's work for a researcher and scholar all on its own, and has concentrated on pure description of the garden. He describes Ruskin's development of the estate, including pertinent examples of Ruskin's art in order to illustrate key points, and discusses the reasons why many of Ruskin's original innovations were allowed to return to nature during the time of his final illness.

Full review here: http://shinynewbooks.co.uk/non-fiction03/the-gardens-at-brantwood-evolution-of-j... ( )