Hampton court

Why does it all look so familiar?

I remember my dad had a lawn mower similar to that one

If you are ever in London by the thames, a short walk from the London eye is the "Museum of Garden History". I remember reading about John Tradescant (senior and younger) when I studied garden design. They used to live in Lambeth, London (gardeners for king Charles 1) . The museum is good for a few hours as well as a few plants, coffee and cake.
The Ashmolean museum, Oxford has a lot of artifacts from John Tradescant jnr, from his trips to Virginia, North America, plant hunting.