author
Mrs. Evelyn Cecil
1865–1941
A pioneering historian of gardens, she helped turn the story of English gardening into a subject of serious study. Writing as Mrs. Evelyn Cecil, she brought deep research and a genuine love of plants to books that still interest readers today.
1 Audiobook
London parks and gardens
by Mrs. Evelyn Cecil
About the author
Born Alicia Margaret Tyssen Amherst in Dorset in 1865, she became widely known in print as Mrs. Evelyn Cecil after her marriage. She was an English horticulturist, botanist, and author whose work connected practical knowledge of plants with a strong interest in history.
Her best-known book, A History of Gardening in England (1895), is often described as the first scholarly history of the subject. She also wrote London Parks and Gardens and contributed to a wider appreciation of historic gardens and cultivated plants at a time when gardening was becoming an important field of study as well as a popular pastime.
Later known as Baroness Rockley, she continued to be remembered for the seriousness and care of her research. She died in 1941, leaving behind books that helped shape how readers and historians understood the tradition of English gardening.