The West Porlock Woodland Garden of a Botanist and Plantsman

The West Porlock Woodland Garden of a Botanist and Plantsman

The year 2021 was recognised in Porlock as the 50^th anniversary of the death of Norman Hadden (1888-1971) whose expertise as a botanist and plantsman has left an indelible memory on not just those who knew him, but many others touched by his influence.

Probably the most comprehensive and well researched information we have on Hadden is an article on the Plantsman published in 2008 by Lady Rosemary Fitzgerald. The article gives a broad picture of the life of Hadden, from his move from Aberdeen to Underway in West Porlock in 1915, to his death in 1971. Although reclusive in nature he developed a worldwide network of contacts who supplied him with plants, often unobtainable in the UK. Such was the burgeoning scale of the plants he obtained, that in 1934 he leased some 2 to 3 acres of West Porlock woodland from the Blathwayt estate in order to create a new woodland garden.

This book is a result of the need for some lasting testament to his expertise as plantsman.

With original photographs of the remains of Hadden’s garden by the author and images of specimens from herbaria around the world.