Hon Hon or HON may refer to: People * Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon * Louis Hon (1924–2008), French footballer * Priscilla Hon (born 1998), Australian tennis player Other uses * Hon (Baltimore), a cultural stereotype of ...

. Robert Gathorne-Hardy, (31 July 190211 February 1973) was a British writer, botanist, and horticulturalist. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and Christ Church, Oxford. Robert was the third of four sons of Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 3rd

Earl of Cranbrook Earl of Cranbrook, in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1892 for Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, Baron Medway. The family seat is Great Glemham House, near Saxmundham, Suffolk. The title remains held by t ...

. He was for forty years a resident of

Stanford Dingley Stanford Dingley is a small village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, between Newbury and Theale. Geography Stanford Dingley fills part of both sides of the valley of the upper River Pang, on the minor roads between the A4 Bath R ...

in Berkshire. In Oxford he co-founded the Uffizi Society alongside Anthony Eden and

Lord David Cecil Lord Edward Christian David Gascoyne-Cecil, CH (9 April 1902 – 1 January 1986) was a British biographer, historian, and scholar. He held the style of "Lord" by courtesy, as a younger son of a marquess. Early life and studies David Cecil was ...

Although he also wrote fiction, including ''Lacebury Manor'' and ''Other Seas'', and some bibliographical works, Gathorne-Hardy is best known for his books on plants that he researched while growing in the garden or about plants that he collected in different parts of the world. He called himself an amateur gardener, but in reality was no amateur. In 1960 he was made a Fellow of the

Linnean Society 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 ...

. Gathorne-Hardy wrote about his own garden, his mother's garden, and that of his illustrator John Nash, each having their own point of view, their own distinct possibilities, and as he often said, ". . . their own snubs to give." He also worked- alongside his elder brother Edward- as a director of the booksellers

Elkin Mathews Charles Elkin Mathews (1851 – 10 November 1921) was a British publisher and bookseller who played an important role in the literary life of London in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Mathews was born in Gravesend, and learned his tr ...

. Gathorne-Hardy's sister,

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

(1911-2006), was the wife of George Heywood Hill, owner of the Mayfair bookshop bearing his name. A nephew - son of his younger brother Anthony - was

Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy (17 May 1933 – 16 July 2019) was a British author, known for biographies, including one of Alfred Kinsey, and books of social history on the British nanny and public school system. For his autobiography, ''Half an Arc ...

.Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 2003, vol. 1, p. 942

Bibliography

* (ed.) ''The Golden Grove; selected passages from the sermons and writings of Jeremy Taylor'', 1930 * ''Coronation Baby'', Collins, 1935. fiction * ''Wild Flowers in Britain'', Batsford, 1938. With illustrations by John Nash. * ''Three Acres and a Mill'', London: J.M. Dent & Sons, 1939. * (ed. with intro.) ''Garden Flowers from Plates'' by Jane Loudon, Batsford, 1948 * ''Recollections of Logan Pearsall Smith; the story of a friendship'', 1949 * ''The Tranquil Gardener'', London: T. Nelson, 1958. Illustrated by John Nash. * ''The Native Garden'', London: T. Nelson, 1961. Illustrated by John Nash. * ''Traveller's Trio'', 1963 * ''Amalfi: Aspects of the City and her Ancient Territories'', 1968 * ''A Bibliography of the Writings of Jeremy Taylor to 1700, with a section of Tayloriana'', 1971 * (ed.) ''Ottoline at Garsington : Memoirs of Lady Ottoline Morrell, 1915–1918'' by

Ottoline Morrell Lady Ottoline Violet Anne Morrell (16 June 1873 – 21 April 1938) was an English aristocrat and society hostess. Her patronage was influential in artistic and intellectual circles, where she befriended writers including Aldous Huxley, Siegfr ...

, 1974

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gathorne-Hardy, Robert English gardeners English garden writers 1973 deaths 1902 births 20th-century British botanists People from West Berkshire District 20th-century English non-fiction writers People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford