Liebermann’s birches

Two months ago I stood in front of this:   It was framed, of course, and hung fairly low against the red (if memory serves) backdrop of a wall at the Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum in Hannover. The painting is one of  a series that artist Max Liebermann made of views in…

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Schloss Herrenhausen rebuilt

Ever Ssince the Herrenhauser Schloss was bombed in 1943 (and consubsequently burnt to the ground), the question what should come in its place has been on people’s mind in the north-German city of Hannover. 1The original Schloss had been a late 17th century structure, which was mostly upgraded on the outside…

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The 13-shire-view

Two references to ‘thirteen-shire-views’, written almost 150 years apart, but found by me in a few weeks time: that can not be a coincidence. Is the 13-shire-view a theme in Britain?

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Summary

Two references to ‘thirteen-shire-views’, written almost 150 years apart, but found by me in a few weeks time: that can not be a coincidence. Is the 13-shire-view a theme in Britain?

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The obese hens of Hampton Court

I thought it was about time I drew some attention towards the group I run 1‘Run’ is a big word, I need to start updating the lists of gardens again, which is my self-inflicted duty as the group admin. But the lack of updating on my part, luckily does not…

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Garden front plans for Wotton

Up till two months before his death, George Grenville kept looking at developments at Stowe (his elder brother’s estate) as inspiration for his own Wotton House.

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Summary

Up till two months before his death, George Grenville kept looking at developments at Stowe (his elder brother’s estate) as inspiration for his own Wotton House.

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A well placed asterisk, George

George Grenville (1712-1770), statesman, writes a poem that could be understood as an attempt to protect some trees. However…

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Summary

George Grenville (1712-1770), statesman, writes a poem that could be understood as an attempt to protect some trees. However…

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If the Ivy looks too big to be true

If we have anything to learn from the recent discovery of the remains of a 19th century garden grotto in Hamburg, it is this: if the Ivy looks too big to be true, it probably ís too big to be true. Because that is where it had been hiding for decades,…

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Well, I díd ask…

I asked a question in my last post. This one: “Or could the circular area -with or without building- surrounded by a thick planting of evergreens have been the norm at the time?“. ‘At the time’, being the 1720s, as that was when two drawings of such a circular open…

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