ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates that through a range of forms of publication, John Loudon developed the notion of gardens in the public sphere as national projects to which all should have access. The chapter focuses on gardens in the private sphere and their contribution to ideas of happiness. The first edition of the Encyclopaedia of Gardening appeared in 1822, the same year that Cobbett's Cottage Economy was issued. The advent of a cheaper competitor in 1831, the Horticultural Register, more focused on matters of science and aesthetics directly related to gardening practice, may have obliged John Loudon to withdraw from domestic discourse that was too closely associated with women, domestic servants and the labouring poor. The Book Manufactory of Bayswater exemplifies the participation of women, as producers, in the publishing business. The botanic art produced by the women of the Book Manufactory of Bayswater was professional in the sense that the work was published and made available to the public.
