The Education Of a Gardener

Russell Page (1906–1985) became a professional garden designer in 1928 after studying painting at the Slade School of Art in London and in Paris. In 1935 he entered into a brief partnership with the landscapist and architect Geoffrey Jellicoe. He designed a great variety of gardens throughout Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America, ranging from windowboxes and small cottage gardens to those meant for large estates, public parks, and housing developments for industrial workers. Among his best-known projects are the gardens at the PepsiCo headquarters, the courtyard of the Frick Collection, and the Festival Gardens at Battersea Park. Page was one of only three Englishmen to have received a medal from the French Academy of Architecture and was an Officer of the British Empire.Robin Lane Fox is a fellow at New College, Oxford, and the gardening correspondent for the Financial Times.