The Wild Garden, or the Naturalization and Natural Grouping of Hardy Exotic Plants with a Chapter on the Garden of British Wild Flowers

5th edition. xxx, 304pp, with tissue-guarded frontispiece and numerous black and white illustrations in text. In black cloth-covered boards with gilt decorations and relief titles front and spine. Top edge gilt, all others deckled. 8vo. Boards very gently worn at edges, lightly rubbed and rounded at spine ends and corners, with some slight bubbling. Previous owner’s bookplate on front pastedown (which has left an imprint on the front free endpaper). Hint of toning on endpapers, else neat, clean, bright and tight. A very nice copy of this classic work on English wild gardens. First published in 1870, Robinson’s work was revolutionary for its time, issuing a forceful challenge to the prevailing gardening styles of the day and advocating a more naturalistic, holistic approach in which both native and exotic hardy plants are arranged in groupings that mimic wild landscapes. It was this work and his companion title, ‘The English Flower Garden’, and through the example of his own garden at Gravetye Manor in West Sussex, that Robinson had a profound impact on English gardening which persists to this day.