After her death in 1969, the garden became neglected, but happily has been carefully restored since 1985 and now remains a living monument to a great lady, enjoying visitors from all over the world. The Elizabethan manor built of Ham stone, stands amongst a haven of horticultural interest with ambling paths and natural gullies with some structure given using pollarded willows and a curving avenue of domed Chamaecyparis. The National Portrait Gallery, London possesses two photographs of Margery Fish: Retrieved 2 November 2012.

A visit to Germany in 1937 convinced Walter Fish that war was inevitable and that they should move to the countryside. They eventually bought East Lambrook Manor in the Somerset parish of Kingsbury Episcopi in November of that year. The house, which was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1959, [3] was built of Somerset hamstone in the 15th and 16th centuries and came with two acres of land. [1] Gardening [ edit ] At the start of World War I, Lord Northcliffe was the most powerful man in Fleet Street, wielding influence at every level. So when in 1917 the prime minister, Lloyd George, asked him to head the British Mission to the USA, Northcliffe immediately requested that Margery be on his staff. It meant crossing the Atlantic under threat of enemy torpedoes, but she accepted without hesitation. The mission spent three years in the USA and Margery was awarded the MBE in recognition of her contribution. David St John Thomas: Journey through Britain... (London: Frances Lincoln, 2004), pp. 343–44. Retrieved 2 November 2012. We didn't start work outside for nearly a year, and by that time we felt we belonged to the place and it belonged to us and we had some ideas of what we wanted to do with it.

Customer reviews

The iconic cottage garden at East Lambrook Manor is the creation of celebrated 20th-century plantswoman and gardening writer Margery Fish. Here she developed her own unselfconscious approach to gardening, combining both contemporary and old-fashioned plants in a relaxed and informal manner to create a garden of great beauty and charm. Margery Townsend left secretarial college in 1911 with glowing references, at a time when it was still rare for a middle class girl to either want or have the opportunity to follow a career, Margery entered the world of Fleet Street. She immediately showed great talent and worked diligently and zealously in everything she did and was soon promoted to work for the Editor of the Daily Mail, Tommy Marlowe. Here, for the first time she also found herself working for the newspaper’s founder, Lord Northcliffe, known to his staff as ‘The Chief’. He was a dictator who ruled his staff through fear and friendliness, able to reward one minute and punish the next. However, Margery remained loyal to his memory and indeed, he instilled in her the importance of aiming for the highest standards at whatever she embarked upon. In a world where women had still not been given the vote, Lord Northcliffe, showed Margery that regardless of their sex, it was the ability of his staff to work hard and show talent that would lead to their success. She was educated at the Friends School Saffron Walden and at a secretarial college, before spending twenty years working in Fleet Street, initially with countryside magazines and then with Associated Newspapers. There she accompanied Lord Northcliffe on a war mission to the United States in 1916, and then worked as secretary to six successive editors of the Daily Mail, the last of whom, the widower Walter Fish, she married on 2 March 1933, three years after his retirement. During and after her period with Associated Newspapers she wrote for several other papers and periodicals, including the field-sports magazine The Field.

The details of the garden are also beautifully written, and, as another reviewer has also said, the book warrants a second reading - probably with google at the ready to find photos of all the plants mentioned. Many of the tips about growing conditions and which plants go well together are really useful, even to someone like me whose garden is tiny! The book follows Margery as she learns about gardening while building what became a classic garden, but she is not shy of admitting to mistakes and problems and I think anyone who enjoys gardening and reading will probably enjoy this book. I bought this as I saw it recommended elsewhere. I wasn't sure what to expect but found it a really interesting read. I wondered if it would be a dull list of jobs and plants, but the story of how the garden is designed and restored, as well as Margery's relationship with her grumpy and intransigent husband, who is very insistent on things being done his way and sometimes sabotages Margery's efforts to do otherwise, give the book a structure and "characters" which make it quite a compelling read. Oh give me such a 14ft pole with a forked end and let me loose on this interesting and pleasant work, so that I can catch and guide these freely waving shoots of the old climbing roses, and paint my picture with them "with upright spring! with downward swag!" in the heights of a yew tree, on one of those odds and ends of unclassified places about my home grounds. Margery Fish working at her desk at East Lambrook Manor (picture right).She wrote many articles and books, including the timeless classic, ‘We Made A Garden’, which charts the trials and tribulations of her early years in gardening with Walter Fish at East Lambrook Manor.

The late Margery Fish, well-known English garden writer, recounts the joys and trials of creating, with her husband, the now-famous cottage gardens at East Lambrook Manor in Somerset. First published in 1956 by W.H. & L. Collingridge, Ltd. This edition is edited and contains a foreword by Graham Stuart Thomas. Twenty-four lovely b&w photos. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)