William Barron (gardener)

[1][4][5] At Elvaston Castle Barron worked on the surrounding gardens, woodlands and pleasure grounds, where he introduced many innovative designs and techniques.

At Elvaston his: ... hugely ambitious tree-transplanting, propagating and grafting, transformed a largely featureless site into one of the most celebrated gardens in Europe and North America.

Hundreds of trees, including very large and mature specimens, were moved across Derbyshire and adjacent counties, whilst the grounds, and especially the pinetum and Barron's British Winter Garden, promoted the use of evergreens in public and private spaces, helping to drive the new fashion in British, European and American gardens.

Barron described his method of tree planting in his book, The British Winter Garden: A Practical Treatise on Evergreens (1852).

Among the trees moved by Barron to Elvaston was a large yew which was used an arbour, which was about a hundred years old and which was transported 25 miles.

The replacement was lifted together with its root ball weighing half a ton, and hauled to Osborne House where it was successfully replanted.

[4] By 1867 he had been joined in partnership by his son, John Barron (1844-1906), who had trained abroad in landscape gardening,[4] and the firm became 'W.

[6] Barron's work at Elvaston Castle became famous when the gardens were opened to the public in the 1850s, leading to a topiary revival.

In 2012 a Derbyshire County Council blue plaque was unveiled on his former home on Nottingham Road in Borrowash where he lived from 1864 to 1891.