Gertrude Jekyll's 'Munstead Flower Glasses'
- gardenhistorygirl
- 2 hours ago
- 20 min read
‘White Dahlia and Clematis Flammula with Seakale and Magnolia Leaves in a Tall Munstead Glass’. Photograph by Gertrude Jekyll from her book, ‘Flower Decoration in the House’, 1907
Introduction
I'm currently researching and writing yet another post relating to Miss Willmott and her plants – and it's taking a while! So I was very pleased when doing some on-line research trawling through The Garden magazine [William Robinson's gardening paper late 19th/early 20th century], I chanced upon some information on a subject I've long wanted to write about – Gertrude Jekyll's Munstead Flower Glasses. [Jekyll and her contemporaries referred to glass vases for cut flowers as 'glasses' most of the time, and so shall I.] So I decided to 'pause' Miss Willmott and, instead, jump feet first down the 'flower glasses' garden history rabbit hole. And once I started researching Jekyll's own designs for these flower glasses in the horticultural press and garden writings of the time, I wasn't disappointed with the amount of information available. So here we are...
I first came across these vases some years ago during a visit to my favourite stop-over, Pots & Pithoi, for some retail therapy (they sell gorgeous Cretan terracotta pots), plus coffee & cake, on my way to Gravetye Manor in Sussex, once Robinson's home and probably my favourite garden! Pots & Pithoi, at the time anyway, stocked Gertrude Jekyll vases – not originals, but from a company called Gertrude Jekyll Designs begun by her great, great niece who has revived Jekyll's designs. As they are rather beautiful, and named for such an important female name in garden history, of course I had to have one! https://gertrudejekylldesigns.com/pages/about
Flower Glass No. 4. Photograph by author
Today, the company produces just 5 designs – my own vase is Flower Glass No. 4, shown here in my kitchen with peonies. The glasses are available to buy on-line [see above link, and for the story of this revival].
Flower Arranging
During this period, flower arranging was of course considered a necessary skill for a lady – Jekyll pointing out in her 1907 book, Flower Decoration in the House, that in “houses of small or average calibre the flowers are generally arranged by the mistress of the house or her daughter”. While for the more well-to-do, and grand estates, it was usually the Head Gardener who made sure that fresh flowers were placed in the house, while also providing pot plants and masses of cut flowers for special events. Jekyll also pointing out that, sometimes, one of “the indoor servants” [I could do with a couple of those…] may have a love of flowers and would delight in arranging them. They may also, as she put it candidly, with a little outside help “acquire much skill… and develop real taste” in this area.
‘The Flower Arrangement’. By Otto Scholderer, 1900. Public Domain
There were of course many ‘how-to’ articles and books available for those that needed help – the purpose of Jekyll’s own book stated as being “to offer useful suggestions”, while at the same time reminding those more advanced in the art of “a few details that have been overlooked”. Jekyll was, amongst her many talents, herself a skilled flower arranger and a photographer. Flower Decoration in the House features her own photographs of some of her arrangements – a few in Munstead Flower Glasses [one being the photograph at the top of this post], as well as in other of her treasured vases and containers.
Esther Meynell [Note 1], in her book Cottage Tale, written in 1946, wrote in praise of Jekyll as “a pioneer” in the use of seasonal flowers in arrangements, and pointed out that Jekyll’s photographs in the book feature a variety of different types of vases and other more day-to-day containers. Jekyll appreciating just how attractive “various homely household things” were as vases, using “all sorts of unusual receptacles for flowers with charming effect” [an example shown below].
'Parrot and Retroflexa Tulips in an Italian Drug Jar'. Photograph by Gertrude Jekyll from her book, ’Flower Decoration in the House’, 1907
History of the Vase
Being new to the subject of flower arranging, I’ve had a quick look at the history of vases and it’s quite fascinating, so here's just a brief synopsis [if you’d like to know more, there are suggested links at Note 2]. Flower vases had their beginnings in, primarily, the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece and China. They were not at first used for flowers, but for holding food, offerings to gods, or burial items for the dead. Although ancient Egyptian wall paintings do depict flowers and plants – some in vases, and it’s likely they were the first to display cut flowers in this way. Skipping ahead, by the Renaissance flower vases took on a new importance featuring in the wonderful Dutch still-life paintings of flowers that we’re familiar with.
‘Flowers in a Glass Vase’, attributed to Alexander Adriaenssen, previously attributed to Jan Brueghel. Courtesy Fitzwilliam Museum under Creative Commons
Later still, the Victorians introduced new layers of symbolism to flower vases through their “language of flowers” [a subject that definitely strays into the sphere of garden history] – and even carefully arranged bouquets could apparently convey complex messages [although this aspect is new to me!]. This sentimentality, according to one blog I’ve read [Note 3], “extended to the design of vases, with elaborate shapes and intricate patterns reflecting the emotions and social conventions of the time”.
A little later, the Art Nouveau of the early 20th century led to more simple designs often with flowing lines and organic shapes, whilst Art Deco “embraced geometric patterns and bold colours”. [Think Clarice Cliff...]
The Munstead Flower Glasses
The article that led me to abandon Miss Willmott for a while was published in The Garden on March 29, 1884. The unnamed author of the article, titled ‘The Munstead Flower Glasses’, was obviously not a fan of the, then, fashion for highly coloured and decorated vases, describing them as “decorative rubbish... [and] flashy coloured glasses, ugly in form and design”. He [I'm presuming the author is a man, they usually were at this time] questioned the very idea of too much pattern and “glaring colour” in something intended to hold flowers – which, being some of the loveliest things in nature, didn’t need such things to spoil peoples’ enjoyment of them. He also complains about the designers of such vases associating beautiful flowers with “designs frightful in their impertinence!” [can't wait for an opportunity to use that expression].
The author calms down a bit after this rant, and writes about what was required in glasses, such as sizing, form, how much water they can hold, being of an “inoffensive colour” – all necessary to enable the flowers they held to shine and be enjoyed “in all their beauty”. But, he also pointed out, it had long been “hopelessly difficult” to get such simple, suitable glasses.
‘Christmas Rose, Laurustinus and Foliage of Megasea in a Munstead Glass’. Photograph by Gertrude Jekyll, from her book ‘Flower Decoration in the House’, 1907
He then gets to the point [oh, how I love how these Victorians wrote!], writing that he’s now “glad to state” that a lady, who clearly understands the problem, has designed a number of glasses in various different forms “suited to the different types of flowers”. Having still not mentioned Gertrude Jekyll by name, he goes on to describe them as being varied in shape, of good form and priced reasonably – "The new Munstead flower glasses are designed… to be of useful shapes, strong, low in price, and to hold a large quantity of water”. [This capacity for water seems to be an incredibly important point for them all – flower arrangers everywhere please excuse me if this is obvious!]
One of the greatest things about this article is that it includes a full page of diagrams of all the different glasses available, each marked with its dimensions. And it includes comment [below] on some of them. [I'm unsure how many additional designs were forthcoming over the years, but coloured, ribbed ones, were also available at some point – discussed later.]
‘Diagrams of the Munstead Flower Glasses’. From ‘The Garden’, March 29, 1884
“The two sets of three at the top of the page are for use on long dinner tables; a common tumbler in the middle of each bowl makes it easier to arrange the flowers. Some of the smallest sizes are convenient for grouping on dinner tables either round a central lamp or combined with larger glasses”.
“Some of the shapes are specially suitable for the use of florists. The shapes comprise all that can be required for arranging any kind of flowers and foliage, from a bunch of Violets to the largest decoration that can be put upon a table”.
The article concludes by saying that the glasses are made by Messrs James Green and Nephew of London. “They are called the Munstead glasses, as it was there they were designed and first used by Miss Jekyll”. Gertrude finally gets a name check.
And here to note that the flower glasses were probably not named for Jekyll's famed Lutyen's-designed home, Munstead Wood, but rather Munstead House, her mother's home, where in the 1880's, the time the glasses were designed, she was still living. Jekyll purchased some land, called Munstead Wood, just across the road from her mothers' house around 1882/83 and developed a garden there even before Lutyens actually built the house. Munstead Wood was completed around 1897, and Jekyll lived there until her death in 1932. [Although I think it's all rather murky as to which Munstead they was named for, as the only date I've found for when the flower glasses were first available is 1884 – and by this time she owned the Munstead Wood land.]
‘Daffodils and Tulips in Munstead Glasses’. Photograph by Gertrude Jekyll from her book, ’Flower Decoration in the House’, 1907 [The glass on the left looks very much like my own modern Flower Glass No. 4]
Jekyll is, of course, well-known for having been a skilled craftswoman in many disciplines, and it’s said she worked closely with various manufacturers to ensure that her designs [for all sorts of things] were what she intended, and that they were accessible to the wider public. Her flower glasses are the perfect example. Having felt unable to find a suitably shaped vase for her own cut flowers, writing a few years later that “it is not enough to cultivate plants well: they must also be used well”, she designed her own. [Quote from her first book, Wood and Garden – Notes and Thoughts, Practical and Critical, of a Working Amateur, first published in 1899.]
An image of what Jekyll referred to as "the most useful shapes" of her flower glasses [below], appeared in her later book, Home and Garden, published in 1900.
‘Munstead Glasses’. From Gertrude Jekyll’s ‘Home and Garden: Notes and Thoughts, Practical and Critical, of a Worker in Both’, 1900
There were two companies involved in the manufacture and sale of Jekyll's Munstead Flower Glasses.
The designs were produced at the Whitefriars Glass Factory in London, and sold by James Green and Nephew at a cost of between 6d and 10s. One blog [Note 4] quotes the original catalogue sheet which states “These vases are specially designed to meet a growing demand for glasses of various useful shapes and sizes that shall be strong, low in price and capable of holding a large quantity of water”.
The Manufacturer: Whitefriars Glass (James Powell & Sons)
The Whitefriars Glass Company was located in a small glassworks in Tudor Street, first established in the 17th century, just behind Fleet Street in London in an area popular with artisans and small industry. James Powell bought the business in 1834 and, over the years, it became not only one of the longest-running 'glass houses' in the UK, but also one of the most famous – first in London and then worldwide. Whitefriars pioneered innovative styles of glass-making, and became well-known for stained-glass windows as well as the usual decorative and ornamental glass-ware.
Advertisement for James Powell & Sons, Stand No. G.48 at the 1922 British Industries Fair. Courtesy Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History under Creative Commons
Photograph of ‘The Old Glass House in Tudor Street’, the premises of the Whitefriars Glass Company (James Powell and Sons). Unknown date but before they moved out of Tudor Street in 1923. Public Domain
Jekyll, her writings and gardens, were synonymous with the Arts and Crafts Movement, and there is a connection between the Movement and Whitefriars Glass, which may be how Jekyll knew of them.
The Arts and Crafts Movement and Whitefriars Glass
Whitefriars Glass has been described as the leading firm of ornamental glassmakers in the UK throughout the 19th century, and many glass artisans trained or worked there, or designed for the Powells. So it’s no surprise that Whitefriars attracted the attention of the Arts and Crafts Movement [Note 5].
Begun around the 1880’s, the Movement is famous for its attempts to re-establish skilled craftsmanship in the face of industrialisation and mass-produced factory goods which, at the time, were often considered cheap and shoddy. Jekyll is rightly considered one of its major figures, along with the likes of William Morris, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Philip Webb, William de Morgan and Ford Maddox Brown.
By this time, James Powell’s sons were running the business, and it appears they had a policy of involving artists on a freelance basis. One son, Winston, is known to have been a friend of Rossetti, who, with another well-known proponent of the movement, Edward Burne Jones, designed stained-glass windows for the company. And William Morris is known to have used pale green glasses, made by Whitefriars to Philip Webb’s design, at his famed arts and crafts home, the Red House.
Although the company finally closed in 1980, their glassware remains very collectable.
The Retailer: James Green and Nephew of London
The company that actually sold the flower glasses was Messrs James Green and Nephew of London, a family business established in 1737. They were a prominent manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer of high-quality china (including fine porcelain dessert services), cut glass, and intricate metalwork. The company had a showroom on Queen Victoria Street in the City of London, and warehouses in nearby Upper Thames Street. They were known for their luxury items and even exhibited internationally, including at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition – as pictured below.
Stereoscopic view of the James Green and Nephew exhibit at the Glass and Porcelain Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. The image shows glass tableware, dessert pieces and candelabra. From the collection of the New York Public Library under Wikimedia Commons [They were awarded a prize at this exhibition, which is noted in their advertisement below]
I’ve found very little other information about James Green & Nephew's work with Jekyll or her flower glasses [online at least]. However, I did find reports in the horticultural press of the company exhibiting them at Royal Horticultural Society flower shows. For example, in the summer of 1891, they showed a selection of the glasses at the May show held in the Temple Gardens in London [The Gardeners' Chronicle, June 3, 1891].
A few years later, they exhibited “some useful and pretty vases for containing cut flowers… known as ‘Munstead’ flower glasses” at one of the RHS's fortnightly shows [The Gardeners' Chronicle, March 14, 1903] and, in the summer of that year, they exhibited the glasses at The National Rose Show held in the Temple Gardens as a “non-competitive exhibit” [The Gardeners' Chronicle, July 4, 1903].
‘James Green and Nephew’. Page from ‘London Illustrated A Complete Guide to The Places of Amusement’. Engraving by Henry Herbert, 1883. Licensed from Look and Learn
Just like Whitefriars Glass, their Victorian glassware and ceramics are today quite collectable.
‘Munstead Flower Glasses. The New Table Decoration’. Advertisement by James Green and Nephew, from 'Gardening Illustrated', July 13, 1889 [One of the few advertisements in the horticultural press I've found for them]
Flower Decoration in the House by Gertrude Jekyll, published 1907
In 1907, Jekyll published Flower Decoration in the House, in which she shared with her readers her ideas (and 'rules') about using cut flowers. These included such things as co-ordinating flowers with interior room decoration, and “even advising on colours that worked best under electric lighting” [Note 6, from the National Trust's page on Munstead Wood].
In her ‘flower shop’ [and by this time Jekyll was living at Munstead Wood], Jekyll chose containers and arranged the flowers. According to the National Trust, which now cares for Munstead Wood [Note 6 again], her so-called ‘flower shop’ was next to a workshop with a door opening directly into her garden. This was where she kept, stored, and arranged cut flowers and foliage from the garden using a selection of vases and bowls for display throughout her home. She then photographed them – often arranging several in a row, as can be seen below, where she has used her flower glasses. According to the authors of the book, Gertrude Jekyll at Munstead Wood [Note 7], Jekyll took several hundred photographs of such arrangements over the different seasons – eventually using nearly 60 of them to illustrate the book. [There are only 7 in the book which specifically have 'Munstead Glass' in the title – all used in this post.]
Munstead flower glasses filled with arrangements of early summer flowers. Photograph by Gertrude Jekyll, 1887
And it's in this book, some years after actually designing and commissioning the flower glasses, that Jekyll writes how, famously dissatisfied with the type of vases available, she decided to do something about it:
“Formerly it was difficult to get useful glasses for holding cut flowers. They were nearly always of a trumpet shape, widest at the tip and tapering down to a point just where it is most desirable to have a large quantity of water”.
One photograph, featuring two of her flower glasses, can be seen below.
‘Iris and Artichoke Leaves: Stock White Cloud and Stachys in Munstead Glasses’. Photograph by Gertrude Jekyll from her book, ‘Flower Decoration for the House’, 1907
Pointing out that this was several years previously, she writes that as there was a definite lack of vases with “useful shapes and good capacity”, she drew some shapes and had them made “in a non-expensive quality of glass”. This was, she adds, undertaken at her request by James Green and Nephew, who must have outsourced the manufacture to Whitefriars. “They are known as Munstead Flower Glasses, they are cheap and strong, they hold plenty of water, and are in a number of useful sizes".
Page from 'Flower Decoration in the House' by Gertrude Jekyll, 1907
Jekyll makes an interesting comment on this page about some of her own favourite glass vases – her 'Venetian glasses' [which also feature in the book], of which she had some "in a very pale greenish glass with slight gliding, that are among my favourite flower-glasses".
I've read that her own flower glasses also came in 'green' as well as clear, but found little mention of them. A specialist dealer in Whitefriars glass [Note 8] writes that at the time neutral colours, such as 'sea green', were popular, and that some of Jekyll's flower glasses did come in 'flint and soft green'.
However, I've only found two mentions of 'green' Munstead flower glasses in the horticultural press – The Gardeners’ Chronicle mentions James Green & Nephew exhibiting various of the glasses in 'green', as well as clear, firstly, at one of the RHS's fortnightly shows [July 30, 1892], and then again in 1903, when their exhibit was awarded a Silver Floral Medal under the 'Implements' category [June 13, 1903].
I’ve found only one image of an original Munstead flower glass in 'green' – where it’s referred to as being ‘straw opal’ as shown below. Apparently this "vertical ribbing" exaggerates the optical qualities of the water [Note 8 again].
'A rare 'straw opal' vase, Munstead series of glass designed by Gertrude Jekyll, by Powell, c.1884'. Image copyright Nigel Benson, 20th Century Glass, 2008-12 – used with permission
Jekyll's 'flower arranging' articles
Jekyll wrote many hundreds of articles for various newspapers and magazines about her gardening, plants – and flower arranging, and her advice about such topics was much in demand. Her books, as in the style of the time, were often an amalgamation of such articles. For example, in an article in Country Life [June 11, 1904, ‘Studies of Flowers and Fruit’], she repeats her advice about what colours to use in certain rooms – and that “it is the rule… that arrangements of flowers in rooms are made in good taste”. Jekyll also pointing out that flowers “take kindly to careful arranging” and seem to understand “what is required of them” – by which she meant that however carefully they were arranged, by the following day they would have “accommodated themselves so well” that the arrangement would be even better. [In my case, it means my tulips have flopped...]
Apparently, William Robinson [owner and editor of The Garden and Gardening Illustrated, both of which published many articles by Jekyll], “only rarely” featured studies of floral arrangements – a subject which he no doubt dismissed “as ladies’ work”. And I have to agree – having spent the last few years with my nose often firmly pressed between their pages! For Jekyll however, such ‘flower arranging’ was just another element of “the unity of arts and home-making... using cut-flowers and foliage, all arranged in the proper vessels” [Note 7 again].
‘Flowers and Plants in the House’, by G.J., Surrey. From ‘The Garden’, June 24, 1882
However, there is an exception to this lack of floral-related articles in The Garden. During the years 1881 and 1882, just over 50 articles by Jekyll were published under the title ‘Flowers and Plants in the House’ – each short article describing various ‘seasonal’ displays put together in different kinds of vases and pots, and displayed around her home [Note 9 for link to complete listing of Jekyll's books and articles]. An example from June 1882 is shown here. Jekyll was very much for simple arrangements which showed off the flowers, even using wild flowers, such as wild primroses [this is, of course, much frowned upon today]. She particularly disliked stiff arrangements of flowers, much preferring them to look as if they'd just been brought in from the garden.
Despite Jekyll’s love of flowers throughout the house, as she wrote in the chapter ‘Cut Flowers’ in her book, Home and Garden, she was in favour of “restraint and moderation”. She was also of the opinion that rooms could become “overloaded” with flowers and foliage – writing: “During the last few years I have seen many a drawing-room where it appeared to be less a room than a thicket”.
‘Single Peony, Abutilon, Olearia Gunni and Polygonum Baldschuanicum in a Munstead Glass’. Photograph by Gertrude Jekyll from her book, ‘Flower Decoration in the House’, 1907
Jekyll's 'Reserve [or 'cutting'] Garden'
From this set of articles, her 1907 book, and other of her writings, it's clear that Jekyll used cut flowers in her home extensively. And, just another example of there's nothing new under the sun, she had her own 'cutting garden'. Espoused today by Sarah Raven and other modern garden writers, Jekyll was at it in the early 1880's – not at Munstead Wood, but when she still lived across the road at Munstead House with her mother. While I was trawling through the many 'Flower and Plants in the House' articles in The Garden, slap back next to one of them was a 3-page article [August 26, 1882] about a visit to Munstead House, which described the garden in great detail [oh, how I love the horticultural press!]. Just titled ‘Munstead, Godalming’, by a W. Goldring [Note 10], who wrote that it was Jekyll’s aim to “show in her mother’s garden what open-air flowers really are, and the various ways in which to use them properly”.
One whole section describes “the reserve garden” which, he thought, deserved special notice “as it is so seldom that we find anything of the kind even in the largest places”. The article also includes a plan of the reserve garden [showing the contents of the garden at that particular season], consisting of “an oblong piece of ground” – with the walls of the kitchen garden on 2 sides, the eastern side sheltered by a yew hedge, with the other screened by trees and shrubs. “Such a garden”, Goldring goes on to say, is of the greatest importance – not only as a “never-failing” source of cut flowers, but also as a plant nursery.
Plan of Jekyll's 'reserve' garden from ‘Munstead, Godalming’. Article by W. Goldring, from ‘The Garden’, August 26, 1882
Goldring suggested that a similar garden should be included in “every place where there are borders to be stocked and maintained… particularly where there is a demand for cut flowers”. "Gardeners in large places would find such a reserve plot a great boon…”. However, 'cutting gardens' were not new. Medieval monasteries often had dedicated areas for growing flowers to decorate the altar, although it was probably the Victorians that really developed the cutting garden as we understand it today – and often walled kitchen gardens on grand estates grew flowers for cutting alongside the vegetables.
Jekyll herself devotes a whole chapter to ‘The Reserve Garden’ in her 1907 book, writing that as so many flowers are “now wanted for home decoration”, if no such “garden for cutting” was not available, “the ornamental flower-borders would be sensibly [sic] depleted”. Most of the chapter actually deals with how to prepare and care for cut flowers and foliage, and she usefully provides a list of suggested flowers [annuals, biennials and hardy perennials] useful for cutting.
Photograph of Gertrude Jekyll, aged 80, in the Spring Garden at Munstead Wood
And to Finish
My goodness, I enjoyed writing this! I've always avoided writing anything about Gertrude Jekyll as most aspects of her activities have been written about so extensively – but not, I think, her flower glasses. I've also learnt something about flower arranging and cut flowers, as well as the wonderful Whitefriars Glass.
As mentioned earlier, I've not found much detail about how the connection between Jekyll, Whitefriars, and James Green and Nephew came about, or how it was all put together. It's probably all in a book about glass somewhere – however, as usual for my posts, I've used the horticultural press and garden writing of the time as my sources.
Although advertised as ‘cheap’, the Whitefriars glass was hand-made which, according to its website [from an historic document I think, although when is not clear], meant it was not only stronger but also “possesses an artistic individuality wanting in glass produced mechanically”. And when talking about ‘Flowers and Vases’ says: “to get good effects the shape and character of the vases and bowls…must be suitable. This has always been studied at Whitefriars and many beautiful shapes have been designed and made”. It’s perhaps no surprise therefore that Jekyll used Whitefriars, as this fitted so well with her own ethos.
'White Tulips in a Munstead Glass'. Photograph by Gertrude Jekyll from her book, ‘Flower Decoration in the House’, 1907
I'm also very grateful to members of 'A Whitefriars Glass Collectors Club' Facebook group for being so generous with their time (answering questions) and providing me with information regarding the 'green' flower glasses. It's always so nice to meet a group of people obviously as passionate about their subject, as I am about garden history! Also, as 'garden photography' from this period is a particular passion, it's given me the perfect opportunity to use some of Jekyll's fabulous photographs.
Strangely, one of the things I've not been able to pin down is the exact dates that Munstead Flower Glasses were marketed for sale. The closest I've got is a brief mention of 1884 – up to the 1st World War. Does anyone know?
As already mentioned, I'm very fond of my 'new' Munstead flower glass and to be honest, looking at the prices, don't think I could afford to buy an original! They seem to retail for hundreds of pounds – and I much prefer to spend my money buying original Victorian and Edwardian gardening books. Many are, of course, available online [via www.biodiversitylibrary.org], including Jekyll's. Flower Decoration in the House however is only partially digitised, but I managed to get one [an original 1907 edition] for £40.
And, finally, another photograph from Jekyll's book, Flower Decoration in the House, that features her Munstead flower glasses.
‘Michaelmas Daisies and Hydrangea in Munstead Glass, with foliage of Vine and Cineraria Maritima’. Photograph by Gertrude Jekyll from her book, ‘Flower Decoration in the House’, 1907
So, now back to Miss Willmott...
Notes:
1. Esther Meynell (1878-1955). English novelist and biographer. She lived in Sussex for a time and seems to have been just as interested in its countryside, heritage, and architecture as Jekyll had been years before.
2. History of Vase links
3. ‘A Blossoming Legacy: Tracing the History of Flower Vases Through Time’, Twig+Bloom, September 1, 2023 [link in Note 2]
4. Article ‘Illuminated at The Lightbox’ by paisleypedlar: Musings about art, craft and life, June 2013
5. Article on ‘James Powell & Sons, Whitefriars’ by Jacqueline Banerjee, PhD, Associate Editor, The Victorian Web
6. National Trust link re Munstead Wood:
7. Gertrude Jekyll at Munstead Wood by Judith Tankard & Martin Wood, 2015
8. I'm very grateful to members of A Whitefriars Glass Collectors Club Facebook group for providing me with information regarding the 'green' Munstead flower glasses, particularly to Nigel Benson for allowing me to use his photograph of the 'straw opal' glass. The 'expert' quoted is a Mr Willie Clegg, an experienced specialist dealer in Whitefriars Glass.
9. See the official Gertrude Jekyll website for a complete chronological list of her books and articles: Gertrude Jekyll | Complete list of books & articles
10. William Goldring (1854-1919) was a prominent UK landscape architect, botanist, and horticultural writer. At one point he worked at Kew (1875-1879) and is known to have contributed articles to William Robinson's The Garden, acting as its Assistant Editor from 1879.
References:
Gertrude Jekyll: Essays on the life of a working amateur, edited by Michael Tooley and Primrose Arnander, 1995
Gertrude Jekyll at Munstead Wood by Judith Tankard & Martin Wood, 2015
Further reading:
If you're interested in the famed partnership between Jekyll and the architect, Lutyens, and the many gardens and houses they created between them, I recommend this book (although of course there's plenty of information online): Gardens of a Golden Afternoon. The Story of a Partnership: Edwin Lutyens & Gertrude Jekyll by Jane Brown, 1982
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