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William Robinson

Horticulture and Natural History Figures

William Robinson (1838 to 1935) was an Irish-born gardener and writer who pioneered the wild garden and naturalistic gardening movement in England. His 1870 book The Wild Garden argued for hardy perennial planting in natural drifts through meadow, woodland and waterside settings, a direct reaction against the rigid bedding schemes of Victorian formal gardening. He worked at Gravetye Manor in Sussex and maintained a fifty-year friendship and working partnership with the garden designer Gertrude Jekyll. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Birth Year
1838 1
Death Year
1935 1
Nationality
Irish 1
Defining Contribution
Founder of the wild garden and naturalistic planting style; his book and garden designs were closely associated with the Arts and Crafts style houses of the cottage garden movement. 2
Connections

Associated With

Gardening, Hobbies and Pastimes

Robinson championed the wild, natural planting style against formal Victorian bedding; Jekyll herself credited him with putting hardy-plant gardening within easy reach of ordinary gardeners.

Source William Robinson (Wikipedia)
The Cottage Garden Movement, Concepts and Movements

Robinson's 1870 book The Wild Garden is treated as the movement's founding text

Source Cottage Garden (Wikipedia)

Developed

Publication of The Wild Garden, Milestones
Source William Robinson (Wikipedia)

Works In

Gardening, Hobbies and Pastimes
Source William Robinson (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Nationality

Ireland

Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.

Source William Robinson (Wikipedia)Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
William Robinson: (15 July 1838 – 12 May 1935) was an Irish practical gardener and journalist whose ideas about wild gardening spurred the movement that led to the popularising of the English cottage garden, a parallel to the search for honest simplicity and vernacular style of the British Arts and Crafts movement, and were important in promoting the woodland garden.
Sources
1. William Robinson (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Long-term impact on gardening section
    The idea of introducing large drifts of native hardy perennial plants into meadow, woodland, and waterside is taken for granted today, but was revolutionary in Robinson's time.
  • Infobox
  • Developed: Publication of The Wild Garden, Publication Date
  • Works In: Gardening
View the Source
2. Cottage Garden (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • History and Development section
    The garden designs of Robinson and Jekyll were often associated with Arts and Crafts style houses.
  • Associated With: The Cottage Garden Movement, Historical Emergence and Reaction section
View the Source

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