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Medieval to 16th century | 17th - 19th century | Garden Restoration | The Nonsuch Restoration Project

~ Informative articles on the history of gardening and garden restoration ~

Restoring the Heritage Garden

 


 

Relaying the sandstone paths at Nonsuch.

The process of landscaping, re-planting and recreating the neglected garden of an old house is one fraught with difficult decisions. Gardening can be hard at the best of times, but when you want to return an old garden to its original state, then your path can be difficult indeed.

This section of this web site gives you some idea of what you can expect - some of the decisions, the difficulties, and the sheer joy of finally seeing a garden restored, even if it isn't quite to how it once was.

We'll be using our own experiences at the nineteenth-century garden of Nonsuch in Tasmania - a recreation of an English garden in an Australian landscape - one of the never-ending contradictions of returning a garden to something approaching its original state.

For a personal chronicle and photographs of our Nonsuch experience, please visit the Nonsuch page.


Articles:

Visionary reflections, or, why it is impossible to completely restore any garden to what it once was (and don't believe any one who has told you they have done it!).

Researching your garden's history.

What style to pick for your garden. This is either going to be very easy, or one of your more difficult decisions.

Building the garden paths

 

Forthcoming articles by July 2006:

Do it yourself, or use professionals?

Landscaping - what to include in your garden (besides plants ...)

Cost, Cost, Damned Cost. Authenticity or Fakery?

Planting the wrong garden on the wrong continent - the peculiar difficulties faced both by 'colonists' and by 'imperialists'.

Planting out the heritage garden.


 

 


Please also visit Old London Maps on the web as many of the maps
and views available there have plans and depictions of gardens from
the medieval period through to the late nineteenth century.

Copyright © Sara Douglass Enterprises Pty Ltd 2006
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