You can’t garden for long without coming across the Royal Horticultural Society. Be it annual flower shows such as Chelsea, or the Award of Garden Merit (AGM) label on plants at a nursery, the RHS is familiar to gardeners across the country. Yet, it’s far more than competitions and recommendations as A Nation in Bloom illustrates.
I was given a copy of the book in return for an unbiased review.
Written by leading horticulturist Matthew Biggs, the book looks not only at the very public face of the RHS, its gardens, shows and campaigns but also at the behind-the-scenes work such as scientific research and plant conservation.
It opens with the society’s history from its launch in 1804 when members were called ‘fellows’ and could join only through written recommendation and if known by at least three current members, to its position today as a “mass membership organisation”.
We’re taken on a guided tour of each of the RHS gardens, including the new Bridgewater garden near Manchester, due to open in 2020 and the first to be built from scratch.
Then there are the shows with their varied settings from the palace backdrop of Hampton Court to the “picturesque setting of the RHS shows at Malvern”.
These chapters are interspersed with explanations of the rest of the RHS’ work. We learn about its role in international plant registration, the vast collection housed in the herbarium at Wisley and how every one of the hundreds of thousands of questions to RHS experts is logged to be used as data.
“This allows the society to keep in touch with gardeners’ current concerns and to pick up on any new problems.”
This in turn feeds through into ideas for RHS gardens or possible scientific research.
Then there are the campaigns and community initiatives including National Gardening Week, The Campaign for School Gardening and Britain in Bloom.
Throughout, pictures from some of the country’s leading photographers make this a visual treat as well as informative.
A Nation in Bloom is not just a review of where the RHS is and how it got there but a declaration of intent. Despite being a “long-standing RHS member”, Biggs admits that an RHS induction course was eye-opening and changed his view of the society and its vision.
The RHS is changing, we’re told, aiming to be more open and inclusive, and determined to show how plants can improve the quality of life, combat climate change and unite society. It’s a role the society believes it is uniquely placed to carry out.
Horticulture, we’re told, “is not just a pleasant pastime but an activity of vital importance to the welfare of the world and its inhabitants”.
A Nation in Bloom is not so much a celebration of past achievement as a rallying cry for the future.
•A Nation in Bloom by Matthew Biggs is published by White Lion Publishing priced at £30.
Feature picture at top: Harlow Carr by Jason Ingram © RHS.
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