English Garden History

‘Based on meticulous research in original sources … Goodman illustrates vividly how adept [Banks] was … Shining a light on individuals whose achievements are relatively uncelebrated’ Jenny Uglow, New York Review of Books A bold new history of how botany and global plant collecting –...

America’s Romance with the English Garden is the story of tastemakers and homemakers, of savvy businessmen and a growing American middle class eager to buy their products. It’s also the story of the beginnings of the modern garden industry, which seduced the masses with its images and fixed the English garden in the mind of the American consumer. Seed and nursery catalogs delivered aspirational images to front doorsteps from California to Maine, and the English garden became the look of America.

For more than two thousand years, tea has awakened, calmed, and connected people across continents and cultures. In A History of Tea, you'll travel with this extraordinary beverage on its global journey—from the tea houses of ancient China and the Zen temples of Japan to the colonial plantations of India and Sri Lanka, and into the teacups of Britain and beyond. Along the way, discover how tea shaped empires, sparked revolutions, and inspired rituals that still endure today.

Though a relatively young country, Italy’s culinary identity has been simmering for centuries, shaped by a shared gastronomic culture. From the dormice and garum of the Roman Empire to the heresy of pineapple pizza, A Bite-Sized History of Italy traces this legacy, offering a delicious romp through millennia of culinary tradition and transformation.

This New York Times bestseller shares the rich history of the White House grounds, revealing how the story of the garden is also the story of America. The 18-acres surrounding the White House have been an unwitting witness to history—kings and queens have dined there, bills and treaties have...

Of all the great cities in the world, few personify their country like New York City. As America's largest city and best known immigration gateway into the country, the Big Apple represents the beauty, diversity and sheer strength of the United States, a global financial center that has enticed people chasing the "American Dream" for centuries. As such, it's only fitting that Madison Square Garden, the stadium that bills itself as the world's most famous arena, resides in the heart of Manhattan.

Chris Smith’s first encounter with okra was of the worst kind: slimy fried okra at a greasy-spoon diner. Despite that dismal introduction, Smith developed a fascination with okra, and as he researched the plant and began to experiment with it in his own kitchen, he discovered an amazing range of delicious ways to cook and eat it, along with ingenious and surprising ways to process the plant from tip-to-tail: pods, leaves, flowers, seeds, and stalks. Smith talked okra with chefs, food historians, university researchers, farmers, homesteaders, and gardeners.

The way we buy our food today feels so ordinary, so effortless, that it’s easy to forget what an extraordinary invention the supermarket really is. Once upon a time, shopping for essentials meant visiting a half-dozen different shops, waiting for clerks to fetch and weigh each item, and relying on personal relationships with local merchants. Fast-forward to the modern world, and the weekly shop takes place under bright lights in vast aisles stocked with everything imaginable — a world of instant choice, convenience, and abundance.

History Lover's Cookbook will transport listeners through the Battle of First Bull Run/Manassas to April 9, 1865, where General Robert E. Lee stood under an apple tree to dispatch his surrender to General Grant. Do you know what he was eating when he surrendered? Prepare a picnic of lemonade, raspberry shrub, mint julep, fried chicken, ham sandwiches, potato salad with boiled dressing, cold slaw, soda biscuits and quince marmalade to observe one of the many Civil War re-enactments throughout the United States.

Unlock the secrets to thriving bonsai–no green thumb required! Are you overwhelmed by the endless rules and techniques of bonsai care? With straightforward guidance, even beginners can make a bonsai thrive!

Packed with a wealth of information, this publication charts the evolution of garden design through a selection of some of our best-loved country house estates and historic gardens, including Hampton Court Palace, Chatsworth, Sissinghurst, and Kew. In addition, it also provides fascinating profiles on the geniuses who created some of our most inspirational gardens, including William Kent, Lancelot "Capability" Brown, Humphry Repton, Gertrude Jekyll, and Sir Joseph Paxton.