Lanning Roper, landscape gardener and journalist, was born on the 4th February 1912 in New Jersey, USA. Roper did not begin working with designed landscapes until he visited Europe during the Second World War and stayed in Britain following his release from duty on the 15th November 1945. He became a student at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew and then in Edinburgh, and later worked for the Royal Horticultural Society and wrote for Country Life.
His marriage to Primrose Harley (1908-1978) led to the development of one of the most famous gardens of its day at their home at Park House, Onslow Square, South Kensington.
Following a series of publications Roper built a reputation for having well-defined tastes and fine judgement and consequently found clients willing to employ him. He undertook almost two hundred garden projects in Britain and Europe throughout the 1960s and 1970s and later worked on projects such as the gardens at the University of East Anglia, and advised on National Trust properties including: Scotney Castle, Kent; Chartwell, Kent; Tatton Park, Cheshire; and Anglesey Abbey, Anglesey. He died from cancer on the 22nd March 1983 at St. Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London.