English Pruning Knives
By Neal Punchard
and Jack Black
Though it’s hard to imagine the old Druids didn’t plant primitive herb gardens, aside from planting crops, gardening in England is said to date back to Roman times. Other ennobled families continued the practice, as did the Church. The former often enclosed and artificially landscaped large areas of land, according to various fashions, throughout the ages.
In the early 18th century, the fashion among the rich was for what became known as the English landscape garden. These tamed the countryside into an idealized form of nature, with artificial water features, gently rolling lawns, groves of trees, and architectural features such as faux temples and castles.
This article appears in the April 2021 issue of KNIFE Magazine. Premium Online Members can click the blue box below to read the whole thing.