Roy Genders, prolific garden writer
Roy Genders, 1913 to 1985, wrote more than dozen books about flowers, floral history and how to grow plants. In “Collecting Antique Plants” (1971) he credits R P Genders with doing the historical research.
I wonder whether that was one of his children or another relative.
Does anyone have any information about him?
Judith Taylor
This post was submitted by jtaylor196.
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I am an avid collector of gardening books and have almost all of Roy Genders’ titles. I read in one of his books that he completed his 100th book just before his death in 1985. I have all but two of these titles in one format or another. I have read one or two critical comments about his authorship and it would appear that several of his books were compiled from information cribbed from other books! Despite this however he has written several authoritative volumes and appeared to have made a good living out of this. He seems to have operated as a market gardener / smallholder in several parts of the country. I have become interested in his life and would like to find out more information about him.
Regards,
Andrew Robinson ( Barton on Humber )
I am so pleased that someone else is interested in Roy Genders, 1917 to 1985. I think he has had a bad press, though not without some reason. Many of the almost 100 books were repeats in new covers, supporting the accusation that he only wrote potboilers but when you look at a lot of the books you see he almost always started out by giving the history of the plant or plants and quoted Shakespeare, Keats or other great poets as a matter of course. That aspect of his work has endeared him to me.
I know bits and pieces about his life, garnered from various sources. The cricket community holds him close to its collective bosom. In 1946 and 1947 he played for Worcestershire in at least one great match. He also played for two other counties but petered out after that. The best obituary is in Wisden.
Roy Genders read forestry at Cambridge and developed his love of horticulture at about the same time.
In the 1960s Genders and his family lived at Northborough Manor, near Peterborough in Hampshire. They restored the grounds of this ancient property and possibly used some of the land as a nursery or market garden. The same web site informed one that Genders designed the rose garden for a botanical garden in Tehran, though he was not as active with roses as with other flowers. I tried to find references to that rose garden but so far have not found any. Maybe someone knows about it.
In the introduction to “Collecting Antique Plants” (1971) he credits one of his family, R P Genders, with doing the historical research. I wonder whether that was his son Robert.
There was no question Roy Genders knew what he was writing about. The instructions for where to find and how to grow the old florists’ flowers are clear and succinct. This was the heyday of John H. Harvey, another scholar and writer who has not been as well loved as he might. Harvey’s insistence on authenticity in garden history led him to be a founding member of this organization. His influence was quite extensive, even if not openly admitted.
About 15 years after Genders wrote this book Ruth Duthie brought out her charming monograph on the old florists and their flowers. It was meticulously researched and set another high standard in the field but both Harvey and Genders had been there before her.
At last I have an opportunity to use that marvellous modern phrase “a paradigm shift”. No matter whether you liked Harvey or not, he changed the game.
One or two other points:Genders’ family were timber merchants in Sheffield. He worked in the business for some time before branching out on his own as a fruit farmer in Somersetshire. In 1949, he was a TV star briefly, long before the current huge outpouring of TV gardening programmes. He demonstrated how to grow mushrooms and was known as the “Mushroom Man”.
If Mr Robinson would like me to send him scans of the few materials I have on Genders, please let me know. It would also be extremely helpful is any of his family or friends reads this note and can fill in the gaps for me.
PS I see a typo in the penultimate line of my earlier note: it should read “IF any of his family…”
PPS Another typo! Genders was born in 1913, not 1917.
Sounds very intriguing. I shall seek out Roy Gender’s books – I hadn’t heard of him!
“Collecting Antique Plants’”, “Cottage Gardens” and “Primroses” are a good place to start. I hope you enjoy them.
A further correction! Northborough Manor is near Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, not Hampshire. He carried out major works to repair the mediaeval buildings in the period 1972-74. In addition to the prodigious writing output. How?!
Thank you, Peter. I am glad to have the correct information. I too am in awe of his energy and drive. I wish I knew how he did it. If I could find anyone who was related to him or knew him perhaps that question might be explored.
Roy Genders did indeed live at Northborough Manor near Peterborough, Cambs in the 1970s. At the time I was a landscape gardener with several jobs in and around Northborough. One day, about 1977-8 as I recall, I was working on a front garden when I was assailed by the post lady for the area who was in a state of ecstacy because she had just delivered post to Northborough Manor and he had asked her if she wanted a signed copy of his latest gardening book. I believe she had no interest or knowledge of gardening but was just so thrilled that Roy had given her this book. Maybe it inspired her to get digging?
What a nice story. Thank you for sharing it with me. It rounds out the picture of Genders, showing him to be generous and kind hearted.