Editorial

Goodbye and thank you to the RHS, by Anne Wareham

February 27, 2012

Just before Christmas I received notice that the RHS would be withdrawing funding for thinkingardens, as they can no longer afford to support it. In January I wrote to Sue Biggs (RHS Director-General) and Elizabeth Banks, (President of the RHS) as follows: In 2005 Stephen Anderton and I decided to see what we could do [...]

An important addition to thinkingardens by Anne Wareham

January 12, 2012

“…. But this is different – these will be links just to specific articles which I am recommending. I’d be delighted to receive suggestions…”

A Spectator first? by Anne Wareham

October 31, 2011

Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened. Winston Churchill Since I started trying to raise awareness of the need for serious reviews of gardens, maybe twenty years ago (yes, I was very young at the time…) I have wanted to take that [...]

Time for new controversies by Anne Wareham

October 13, 2011

Thinkingardens is getting review heavy. This is not a complaint. For a long time we were unable to get books unless I bought them – we are now being offered review copies and I am finding excellent thinkingardens contributors to write them. For both – many thanks. For a long time too I despaired of getting [...]

There is no garden in this country so awful that there won’t be someone desperate to tell you how wonderful it is by Anne Wareham

August 26, 2011

I’m happy to say that thinkingardens is beginning to get offers of garden reviews. So I thought it was worthwhile to offer a short piece encouraging readers to do garden reviews for us and to try to sum up what I am looking for in a garden review. Reviews currently available on the site may [...]

Latest Articles and Reviews
- Bloggery by Emma Bond
  
  Garden blogs have become a vital and exciting – and deadly and boring – part of the garden world in the last few years. It seems time to review them and consider what they have to offer to serious gardeners, and the first reviews will appear here in a few weeks time. Here is Emma [...]
- Naturalistic Planting is anything but, by Michael King
  
  There has been a great deal of animated discussion recently about what a ‘meadow’ is in a garden context and I think this is a subject well worth clarifying a little better. It is clearly related in people’s minds to prairie planting, naturalistic planting, perennial planting and perhaps other confusing terms. Michael King, co-author with Piet [...]
- The 9/11 Memorial Park in New York reviewed by Sheppard Craige
  
  A poignant piece about a very particular site, sensitively written. Thank you, Sheppard. Anne Wareham, editor. Sheppard Craige: The still unfinished 9/11 Memorial Park in lower Manhattan has already been seen by more than a million visitors. It is a powerful minimalist composition of two large squares excavated in the earth by architect Michael Arad. [...]
- More books on Italian Gardens reviewed by Charles Hawes
  
  Charles Hawes has a weakness for Italian Gardens and never misses a good opportunity to visit them. I think he’d quite like to take a tour of other interested garden visitors some day. Meanwhile, he is contenting himself with collecting books about them, and reviewing the books for thinkingardens. So here you are – more [...]
- Parks or Gardens? by Alison Levey.
  
  We (Charles Hawes and I) have been puzzled for years about why people rave about Rousham. In fact so puzzled that we’ve been back more than once to try and work it out. Pleasant enough – apart from the miserable rose garden, grotty green stagnant pool, shredded hostas and a statue of a horse being eaten [...]