Verey, Rosemary Isabel Baird Sandilands

▪ 2002

      British garden designer and writer (b. Dec. 21, 1918, Chatham, Kent, Eng.—d. May 31, 2001, London, Eng.), inspired horticulturists and amateur gardeners alike through her books and the award-winning 1.6-ha (4-ac) English garden at her home, Barnsley House. Verey was particularly known for her attention to detail and historical perspective and for her inspired use of textures, ornamental vegetables, and a year-round colour scheme. She studied mathematics and economics at University College, London, and married architectural historian David Verey in 1939. In 1951 her husband's parents ceded control of the family home, a 17th-century former rectory near Cirencester, Gloucestershire. In 1970 she opened the house's redesigned gardens to the public, and by the 1990s Barnsley House was welcoming up to 30,000 visitors a year. Verey lectured widely and appeared on the BBC television series The English Country Garden in the 1990s. She also designed plans for clients and friends, notably for the gardens at Highgrove for Charles, prince of Wales. Her books included Classic Garden Design (1984), The Garden in Winter (1988), and Rosemary Verey's Making of a Garden (1995). Verey was made OBE in 1996 and in 1999 received both the Victoria Medal of Honour from the Royal Horticultural Society and a special award from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

* * *