Managing gardens for visitors in Great Britain: a story of continuity and change

Garden visiting is a popular activity in Great Britain. This paper identifies the historical antecedents and accompanying development of garden visiting as a form of tourism and recreation, focusing on the management of gardens open to the public in both time and space. Such an approach reveals that many gardens have been established for some considerable time and visiting is by no means a new pastime. The paper reports on a survey of garden owners in Great Britain and uses historical reconstructions to assess the theme of continuity and change in garden management and visiting through time.