Christopher Lloyd of Great Dixter, RIP

I just read in 'The London Times', on line edition, that Christopher Lloyd, the garden writer, died from a stroke while recovering from a broken leg in late January.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2014808,00.html

I heard him speak many years ago and loved his books and articles in 'Country Life' . Quite an extraordinary gardening personality, and the gardening world will surely miss him.

The link to Great Dixter http://www.greatdixter.co.uk/gardens/g_longborder.htm

Yes, DH and I were both saddened to hear of the great Christopher Lloyd's death. He was my favorite garden writer -- so knowledgeable, so inspiring, and so amusingly opinionated!

Tabasco, it's great that you were able to hear Mr. Lloyd speak "in person"; I'm more than a bit envious.

I had ordered a book of Christopher Lloyd's through inter-library loan just before he died, and received word yesterday that it is "in," ready for me to pick up. It's going to be a bittersweet read now.

Thank you especially for the Great Dixter link, tabasco.

I always loved to see what color combinations he came up with- they look willy-nilly at first, but then you realize that it is all planned. I really love the splashes of color that shock!

Thanks for putting this on a thread otherwise I would be quite a oblivious. A Christopher Lolyd book, dang it all, zest and will rejuvinate any jaded gardener and light the fire of any beginner.
I 'll think about him neath the foxgloves when I'm weeding at some point. Chris.

I would have never known, tabasco! I hate hearing that he was laid up before he passed because I have a feeling that guy never stopped. I love his books, and I hope to get to visit Great Dixter some day. It sounds like he worked to make sure it will be there for a long time.

Thanks again.

I believe in the last years he had a partner in crime- a young man who was like-minded in his tastes and abilities. But I don't know if this gentleman has taken over the garden. It would be a shame to have it turn into a snooty bed and breakfast like Rosemary Verey's Barnsley House.

A bittersweet Thanks for this announcement t.
Christopher Lloyd, more than any other gardener, has set the style I've tried to use for years.
After decades of looking at stuffy pompous gardening tomes I ran into him.
How fortuneate you were to hear him speak in person.

Some of my favorite quotes are included in his Obit from the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/31/international/europe/31lloyd.html?ex=1296363600&en=6dcaf79f1ea85fb7&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

Lloyd wrote in Country Life:
"I enjoy writing in our wonderfully expressive, albeit ambiguous, English language,"
"I am passionate about my subject matter, but not (heaven forefend) solemn. I find it impossible to take myself or anyone else too seriously."

and:

"I can never see the point of modesty, which makes everything uniformly low-keyed and drab.
If you're bad at a thing — mending the electric light or, more seriously, in my case, any sort of draftsmanship — admit it like a man,
but if you've done something rather well, like producing a blaze of floral color in May, why pretend otherwise?"

The story goes that he actually scattered Nasturtium seeds in Gertrude Jekyll's White Garden. It seemed boring to him.
Whether this is true or not, I don't think he ever denied doing it.

His Tombstone should read (another one of my favorite Lloydism's:

“I couldn’t design a garden. I just go along and carp"

Ric

Well, ric, I will, for sure, have to see your garden now that I know Lloyd was your muse! I fear I am too repressed especially with the 'color wheel' to suit C. Lloyd's style, and perhaps I could use some pointers.

Interesting quotes from Lloyd, too. We had a subscription to 'Country Life' for a while and I always loved reading his (opinionated) columns about English gardening and various plants. In those days I knew even less about plants and gardening than I do now, and I still found him amusing.