Alvilde Lees-Milne

Alvilde Lees-Milne (née Bridges; 13 August 1909 – 18 March 1994) was a British expert in gardening and landscape design.

Early life Alvilde was born on 13 August 1909 in London. She was the only child of the Lt.-Gen. Sir (George) Tom Molesworth Bridges, the Governor of South Australia from 1922 to 1927, by his wife Janet Florence Menzies,

She and Lees-Milne were candid with each other about their true sexual nature, and they did not generally hide their affairs from one another. During the 1930s James Lees-Milne had been the lover of Harold Nicolson, husband of the writer Vita Sackville-West who was herself noted for her high-profile lesbian affairs. Both Harold and Vita acted as witnesses at the Lees-Milnes' wedding (also present was James' former lover the composer Lennox Berkeley and Berkeley's wife Freda). Vita Sackville-West's former lover Violet Trefusis had been the long-term lover of Princess de Polignac, Her death left him deeply depressed.

Residences In 1961, Alvilde Lees-Milne purchased Alderley Grange, near the western edge of Cotswolds. The marriage survived, principally because they spent a good deal of time apart. Alvilde made a garden at Alderley which would later draw widespread admiration; she subsequently became a much sought-after garden designer, her clients including the Queen of Jordan, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, and Mick Jagger at his manoir in France. She published a variety of best-selling books on gardening and, latterly, interiors.

In 1974, Alvilde decided that Alderley Grange was too much for them. She sold the property; the couple moved to a flat in Lansdown Crescent, Bath. It was soon realised that the place was too cramped. In 1975, they moved to the 17th-century Essex House, on the Badminton estate of the Duke of Beaufort; they rented the property at the suggestion of their close friend David Somerset, the duke's nephew and heir.

Books The Englishwoman's Garden (Chatto & Windus, 1980) co-edited with Rosemary Verey The Englishman's Garden (Allen Lane, 1982) co-edited with Rosemary Verey The Englishwoman's House (Collins, 1984) photography by Derry Moore The Englishman's Room (Viking, 1986) photography by Derry Moore The New Englishwoman's Garden (Chatto & Windus, 1987) co-edited with Rosemary Verey, foreword by Hardy Amies