Maggie Campbell-Culver is a garden and plant historian, and a Fellow of The

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

. She has worked on a number of gardens in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, and was the Garden Conservationist at

Fishbourne Roman Palace Fishbourne Roman Palace (or Fishbourne Villa) is located in the village of Fishbourne, Chichester in West Sussex. The palace is the largest Roman residence north of the Alps. and has an unusually early date of 75 CE, around thirty years af ...

near

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

. In Cornwall, Campbell-Culver undertook the garden and landscape restoration of

Mount Edgcumbe Country Park Mount Edgcumbe Country Park is listed as Grade I on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens and is one of four designated country parks in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The country park is on the Rame Peninsula, overlooking Plym ...

Books

In September 2001, she published ''The Origin of Plants'', a chronology of the plants introduced to Britain, and the people who have shaped Britain's garden history from the earliest times. The book was short-listed for a ''Guild of Garden Writers Award'', and the paperback edition was published in Spring 2004. Campbell-Culver was one of the editors for the 2006 edition of ''The Oxford Companion to the Garden'', and a contributor to the ''Insight Guide Great Gardens of Britain and Ireland'' as well as to the ''English Heritage Handbook on Management of Historic Parks, Gardens and Landscapes''. The ''Eden Project Friends'' magazine has Campbell-Culver as a frequent contributor, while articles have been published in '' Country Life'', ''

The Tablet ''The Tablet'' is a Catholic international weekly review published in London. Brendan Walsh, previously literary editor and then acting editor, was appointed editor in July 2017. History ''The Tablet'' was launched in 1840 by a Quaker convert ...

'', and ''The Countryman'' as well as the French magazine ''Britmag''. ''A Passion for Trees, the Legacy of

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or memo ...

'' is Campbell-Culver's second book and was published in 2006. This focuses on a 1664 book ''Sylva, or, A Discourse of Forest Trees'' authored by John Evelyn (1620–1706), and commemorates the tercentenary of Evelyn's death. Campbell-Culver is a consultant to Lewes District Council for their project on the John Evelyn Heritage Centre at

Southover Grange Southover Grange in Lewes, Sussex is a house of historical significance and is Grade II* listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built in 1572 by William Newton and owned by this family for the next three hundred years. After this it was t ...

. ''Directions for the Gardiner and Other Horticultural Advice'' was re-published by

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

in May 2009. She has completed a book entitled ''Charlemagne and his Flora: The Foundation of European Cooking''. This book describes the eighty-nine plants which in the year 800 the Emperor ordered to be grown on all Imperial land throughout his kingdom to feed the travelling court, the army, and to help avoid famine. She asserts that the chosen plants laid the foundation of modern European cooking.

Other work

Campbell-Culver has given a series of plant talks on local radio in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, where she also lectures. She has completed a lecture tour in Ireland and is a frequent contributor to

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

''. She has lectured at the

Edinburgh International Book Festival The Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) is a book festival that takes place in the last three weeks of August every year in Charlotte Square in the centre of Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh. Billed as ''The largest festival of its ...

, Dartington Festival, and the

Garden History Society The Garden History Society was an organisation in the United Kingdom established to study the history of gardening and to protect historic gardens. In 2015 it became The Gardens Trust, having merged with the Association of Gardens Trusts. It was f ...

, and has enrolled as a

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Regional Lecturer. She is a founder member of the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (now Plant Heritage) and has been involved for many years with the

and their Gardens Trust movement.

Publications

* * *

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell-Culver, Maggie Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Fellows of the Linnean Society of London 21st-century British historians BBC Radio 4 presenters Royal Horticultural Society Women horticulturists and gardeners 21st-century British women writers