Hestercombe, near Taunton in Somerset, was designed by Gertrude Jekyll & Edwin Lutyens in the first decade of the twentieth century. It is now considered to be the epitome of the English garden, evoking an era of timeless aristocratic stability. However, in reality, it was built at a time when the power of the nobility was declining and many of the great country houses were being sold off. Our reporter Maggie Ayre visited Hestercombe and met Andrea Wulf, an expert on the history of British gardens.
This Other Eden: Seven Great Gardens and 300 Years of English History by Andrea Wulf and Emma Gieben-Gamal is published by Little Brown, price £20. ISBN 0-316-72580-3
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