Lloyd, Christopher 1921–2006

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born March 2, 1921, in Northiam, England; died of complications following a stroke after a knee operation, January 27, 2006, in Hastings, England. Horticulturist and author. A renowned English gardener, Lloyd was a columnist and author whose gardens at his Great Dixter home are considered a national treasure. The son of a landscape architect father and a mother who also enjoyed gardening, Lloyd was enamored of horticulture from childhood. However, upon enrolling at King's College, Cambridge, he studied modern languages. World War II interrupted his studies, but he returned to complete a master's degree in 1947. Lloyd then studied horticulture at Wye College at the University of London, where he earned a B.Sc. in decorative horticulture in 1950. He lectured there for the next four years before devoting his full attention to the family estate at Great Dixter. Earning an income as a book writer, lecturer, and popular columnist for Country Life magazine, he created spectacular gardens surrounding his home that were especially noted for Lloyd's trademark love of brilliant colors. He encouraged other gardeners to be daring in their plantings and to express their own personalities through gardening. Opened to the public, tens of thousands of people visit the grounds around Great Dixter each year. Toward the end of his life, Lloyd created the Great Dixter Charitable Trust to ensure that his gardens would be managed properly long after his death. He was recognized for his contributions with an honorary doctorate from Open University in 1996 and an appointment to the Order of the British Empire in 2000. Among his many books are The Well-Tempered Garden (1970; revised edition, 1985), The Adventurous Gardener (1983), In My Garden (1993), Colour for Adventurous Gardeners (2001), Meadows (2004), and Succession Planting for Adventurous Gardeners (2005).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Los Angeles Times, February 4, 2006, p. B15.

New York Times, January 31, 2006, p. A20.

Times (London, England), January 30, 2006, p. 52.