Press Release
On 1st October 2012 Anne Wilkinson’s longawaited biography of [James] Shirley Hibberd
will be published by Cortex Design.
If you think urban bee-keeping, organic
fertilisers and water recycling are new ideas,
think again! Shirley Hibberd was promoting all
these things in the 1850s and in the north
London suburbs. He turned neighbouring plots
of land into experimental gardens for testing
varieties of fruit and vegetables, invented new
ways of growing them, and even gave out
recipes to make the most of what he had
grown. Not only that, but he experimented
with drugs and vegetarianism and campaigned
against cruelty to animals when garden birds
were routinely killed as vermin.
Shirley Hibberd was a pioneer in amateur gardening at a time when only the professionals thought
they knew anything about the subject and small town gardens were derided as a waste of time. The
present day concepts of do-it-yourself gardening and modern day allotments owe everything to his
work and ideas. He is mentioned in every book on Victorian gardening, but very little was previously
known about him. He shot to fame in 1856 with his enticingly named book, Rustic Adornments for
Homes of Taste, in which he instructed aspiring middle class amateur gardeners to use their gardens
and adorn their houses with
aquariums, bird cages and Wardian
cases. He had an opinion on
everything and imparted enthusiastic
encouragement for everyone.
Shirley Hibberd was way ahead of his
time. He wrote twelve books on
gardening, several others on natural
history, and edited three different
gardening
magazines,
including
Amateur Gardening, which is still
published today. He worked as a
public lecturer on gardening and
science, judged flower shows and
advertised plants and gardening
equipment: in fact a Victorian version
of a present day television presenter
and celebrity gardener.
So why isn’t he better known?
Shirley Hibberd was essentially an urban gardener and his gardens have disappeared under more
recent building. He aimed his expertise at the working- and middle-classes, not the upper-classes
who had the influence and the money. After his sudden death in 1890, his memory was lost. Now,
however, we have access to his writing again and can see illustrations of his own garden in Stoke
Newington to show what he was promoting over 150 years ago.
Anne Wilkinson has already written two well-received books on
garden history: The Victorian Gardener and The Passion for
Pelargoniums. She has spent ten years meticulously researching the
life of Shirley Hibberd, his origins in Stepney, east London, the ups
and downs of his two marriages, his relationships with
contemporary gardeners, including William Robinson, with whom he
had a well-documented quarrel, and his legacy for modern amateur
gardening, with its emphasis on fruit and vegetable growing,
allotments and environmental issues.
Shirley Hibberd, The Father of Amateur Gardening, is 304pp, fully illustrated with over 260 images in
monochrome and colour, and provides an anthology of Shirley Hibberd’s work, most of which is not
easily available today. It is an entertaining story, taking the reader back to a time which was far more
colourful and varied than many people imagine. It is a serious study, making a real contribution to
the knowledge of Victorian gardening, but its attractive embellishments make it an ideal gift for
anyone interested in garden history or quirky characters from the past.
Anne Wilkinson will be promoting her book in the autumn of 2012. If you would like her to speak at
a group meeting or write a short article for any publication, please email her or her publisher David Encill. See the Cortex Design web site
for details on how to purchase the book, when available.
Information on Shirley Hibberd is soon to be available on
www.shirleyhibberd.co.uk
Anne’s
personal
website
is
www.annewilkinson.net
Contact Anne at anne@annewilkinson.net