About the Library
The Lindley Library is the best gardening library in the world, essential for garden history, gardens and horticulture. It is open to the public and its enquiry service can be used by all. Last year, 35,000 people used the library - including amateur and professional gardeners, students, researchers, botanical artists and authors. The library also answered over 16,000 enquiries. The majority of the historical and art collections are housed in London. An extensive general gardening library and the horticultural science library is based at Wisley.
In London, the collection includes: 50,000 volumes from the 16th century to the present day; over 400 current journals; 29,000 drawings; nursery, seed and garden sundries catalogues from over 7,000 firms worldwide; journals and papers of horticultural luminaries; special collections; and the Royal Horticultural Society’s archives.
At Wisley, 21,000 books and 500 current journals cover practical gardening, garden history, garden design, floras, cultivated plant monographs and the science of gardening. A collection of twentieth century nursery and seed catalogues, and historical gardening journals serve students researching plant and garden history, complementing the popular lending service of current gardening titles.