Rosemary Verey Papers

Rosemary Isabel Baird Sandilands was born on December 21, 1918. As a girl, she was athletic, outdoorsy and studious. She went on to study mathematics and economics at the University College of London but left in 1939 before earning her degree to marry architectural historian David Verey. They went on to have four children. During this time, Rosemary Verey began to read more about plants and gardening, and soon became fascinated by them.

In 1951, her husband was bequeathed the Verey family estate of Barnsley House, a seventeenth century rectory in the Cotswolds. By the 1960's Rosemary had begun to transform the gardens, which they opened to the public in 1970, incorporating strong architectural details which her husband either found and transported, or built himself. Rosemary experimented with various plants, and collected clippings from famous gardens all over the world. The Barnsley House gardens remain one of England's most visited private gardens today.

In 1980 she published the first of her seventeen books, The Englishwoman's Garden, and began to receive international attention. She gave lectures in America on traditional English-style gardens and took on students from all over the world, including Barbara Paul Robinson, who would go on to write Rosemary's biography and become a member of the New York Botanical Garden's Board. Rosemary designed gardens for celebrities, royals and historic houses including three gardens for Prince Charles at Highgrove and Sir Elton John's estate Woodside. In 1988, Barnsley House was awarded the Christie's and Historic Houses Association Garden of the Year Award.

In the mid-1980's she met Gregory Long, the future president of NYBG while on an American lecture circuit, and the two maintained a close professional relationship for the next two decades. In November of 1998, she designed an ornamental vegetable potager for NYBG, the only public garden she designed in America. A modified version of her plan will debut at the opening of the Garden's Edible Academy in June 2018. The garden will serve to teach children and families about growing and preparing herbs and vegetables.

In 1996, she was awarded the Order of the British Empire and in 1998, became a Distinguished Counselor to the Board at NYBG. In 1999 she received an award from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and the Victoria Medal of Honor from the Royal Horticultural Society. She died in London on May 31, 2001 at the age of 82. A memorial for her was held at NYBG in June. She bequeathed her papers to NYBG, and they were donated by her son Charles in January of 2007. An auction held in 2014 at Bloomsbury Auctions in London dispersed the working library of Rosemary Verey.