The Garden at Charleston
A Bloomsbury Garden through the Seasons

By Sue Snell Introduction by Colin Mckenzie


The Garden at Charleston
Online price: £16.99
Hardback, 112 pages
Published: 6th May 2010

Category: Gardens and Gardening, Travel


Set in the heart of the Sussex downs, Charleston Farmhouse is the most important remaining example of Bloomsbury decorative style.



But the garden, described by Virginia Woolf in 1916 as 'charming…now run rather wild' became and remained central to life in the farmhouse. The walled garden, created by Vanessa Bell and Roger Fry from the vegetable garden after the first world war, the pond, the orchard and the fields beyond, all contributed in a major sense to the creative energies of the place. And this creativity is reflected in the numerous works of art (in particular the sculpture by Vanessa and Clive Bell's son Quentin) placed around the garden to enhance, and sometimes to comment on or to provide a counterpoint to the simple but expressive planting schemes.



Now, for the first time, the year-round beauty and glory of this most English but most artistic of gardens has been captured by one of Britain's leading garden photographers. The result is a book that will enchant, entertain, and remind the many thousands who visit every year, and will tempt, explain and record the splendors and the exuberance of it all for others.

Buy this book for its photographs. Sue Snell is one of the most interesting garden photographers in Britain. And the least predicable. This is not the glossy garden photography that you see in magazines but, rather, an emotive, personal response top the life of the gardens. - Canvas: Friends of Charleston magazine

A treat for all Bloomsbury fans. - Saga

Full of luscious photos. - Lady

With her exquisite photographs, Sue Snell captures not only the glory but the creativity that inspires visitors to this day. - Hatchards

Sue Snell has captured the Englishness well and must be applauded for maintaining the ever-present 'weather' throughout the book. So often pictures are edited of their climate, but this one is animated by sun, cloud, cloud, rain and gloom. The owners' lives as artists are also well represented. Perhaps the most touching thing is that this was once a private place that came about through the application and ingenuity of the owners. That is the truth of a good garden and we are lucky to have it so well remembered here. - House & Garden

A surprisingly artful and considered take on the garden photography format. Wider garden views are mixed with with detail shots, but most interesting are the moments she gets down on the ground to examine insects and forgotten artefacts. This book is worth a look. - Amateur Photographer

The garden retains an intimacy and quietness, a sense of artistry mixed with domesticity, which is incredibly appealing. Snell's pictures go a long way towards capturing that allure. - Argus

A very pretty coffee table book. - Image Interiors

It is both a tribute to the work of the Trust and its dedicated team of gardeners, and a record of this wonderful garden's many delights through the seasons. - Good Book Guide



Publication Details:

Binding: Hardback, 112 pages
ISBN: 9780711231122
Format: 267mm x 250mm
150 colour photographs

BIC Code: AJC, WT
BISAC Code:  PHO000000, TRV009070
Imprint: Frances Lincoln


Other visitors also viewed:
Your Dinner's Poured Out
Bicycles
Fern Fever
Celtic Tales of Enchantment