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ROSEMARY VEREY AND THE EDIBLE LANDSCAPE

© Connie Krochmal

Clarkson Potter has just published a visually stunning and exceptionally informative guide to 20th century western garden designers. "Influential Gardeners-the Designers Who Shaped 20th Century Garden Style" by Andrew Wilson features brief biographies and comprehensive accounts of their contributions to garden style as well as details on how they continue to have an influence on today's taste.

Of the fifty-six individuals that were chosen, one-fourth are women. Along with Gertrude Jekyll and Vita Sackville-West are contemporary figures like Penelope Hobhouse, and Rosemary Verey.

Unfortunately Verey died on May 31, 2001 while Wilson was still working on this remarkable book. So she didn't live to see this fitting tribute to her work.

Verey was a self-trained gardener, and wore many hats during her gardening career. She was a prolific writer, and her many books had a great influence on others. In addition she was popular as a lecturer, and made numerous lecture tours of the U.S. She made five or six trips a year to America. Though she was a celebrity, she was a generous person, and was always willing to serve as mentor to younger gardeners.

One could write entire articles about each of her accomplishments. For the Fruit Garden it is appropriate to focus on her kitchen garden at Barnsley House Garden in Gloucestershire in the Cotswolds with its fruits and veggies. This garden became very famous during Verey's lifetime. Often there were 30,000 visitors every year. Her husband had inherited the house in 1951.

The entire garden consists of about four acres with the kitchen garden being only a small part of that. As a highly respected British garden designer, she did much to popularize the edible landscape or ornamental vegetable garden.

She chose the plants with care, and this was reflected in her results. Visitors almost always commented on the beautiful bed of cabbages in a range of colors---soft green, deep rose, and pale pink---interplanted with white sweet peas. (Verey was so fond of sweet peas that one variety is now named after her.)

On the occasion of Verey's death, Ruth Lively shared fond memories of her visit to Barnsley House on the Taunton Press website. According to Lively, Verey "had a marvelous eye for color, for lines, and for texture...I do think that Rosemary Verey is largely responsible for the popularity of attractive vegetable gardens, and for emboldening home gardeners to bring their kitchen gardens out from behind the garage to take pride of place in the landscape."