The Book of Old-Fashioned Flowers And Other Plants Which Thrive in the Open-Air of England — Edition Insights

Practical Advice Rooted in Observation

Roberts gives clear, experience-based instructions for growing hardy annuals. He lists conditions for success: ample sunshine, deeply dug soil, and space for individual development. Failure, he asserts, usually stems from neglecting one of these—most often overcrowding. He notes that few annuals thrive in shade, though forget-me-nots and nemophilas tolerate damp spots. His advice is specific: Shirley poppies, Iceland poppies, and tulip poppies each have distinct colour ranges. He also mentions Love-in-a-Mist, praising its blue flowers 'enveloped as in a green cloud,' and notes that Swinburne alone among poets used it in a roundel.

A Garden Transformed by Evening

In the chapter 'Night in the Garden,' Roberts shifts from instruction to description. He evokes the heat of late summer days, when only the most enthusiastic gardener lingers outdoors until evening. After sunset, a breeze rises, bees have returned to their hives, and honeyed flowers close their cups to protect pollen from damp. Snails and slugs emerge to work harm under cover of darkness. The passage is atmospheric but also practical: Roberts notes which flowers are pollinated by sun-loving insects and which close at night. His language is precise, as when he describes the breeze making leaves flutter 'rhythmically.'

Literary and Historical Threads

Roberts weaves literary references throughout his gardening advice. He quotes Burns on poppies—'Pleasures are like poppies spread'—and notes that poets have generally used the flower to point a moral, while Ruskin appreciated its beauty. He criticises poets who copy one another's natural history, implying his own observations are more reliable. The book's dedication to 'homely unaffected people who appreciate homely unassuming flowers' signals its audience. Roberts also acknowledges Canon Ellacombe, author of 'Plant Lore of Shakspere,' for access to old garden books, grounding his work in a tradition of English horticultural writing.

Structure and Scope of the Manual

The table of contents reveals a methodical structure: chapters progress from 'Scope and Limitations' through seasonal guides (winter, spring, June, July, August, autumn) to practical topics like soils, manures, seed-sowing, and pests. The book includes a chapter on roses and one on cottage gardens. Roberts addresses the gardener who wants flowers all year, not just summer annuals. The excerpts show he covers both perennial and annual plants, with detailed notes on specific varieties. The manual is part of a series, 'Handbooks of Practical Gardening,' edited by Roberts himself, suggesting a consistent editorial vision.

Roberts's manual is best read as a period piece of Edwardian horticulture, blending practical know-how with a literary sensibility. Readers interested in the history of gardening will find value in his specific plant recommendations and his critique of secondhand knowledge. The book's focus on old-fashioned, hardy plants offers a counterpoint to modern trends toward exotic or high-maintenance varieties. Approach it as a conversation with a knowledgeable, opinionated gardener rather than a comprehensive encyclopedia.

There’s a particular quietness in Roberts’s pages, that sense of tending things slowly, by hand and by lamplight. It makes me think of winter evenings, when the garden is asleep and the work moves indoors. I sometimes wonder if that same unhurried patience might carry over to pots on a windowsill, as in Gardening Indoors and Under Glass A Practical Guide to the Planting, Care and Propagation of House Plants, and to the Construction and Management of Hotbed, Coldframe and — Text and Context. A different sort of keeping, perhaps, but the same gentle watching.