Anne Wareham


What do we want the garden media for? by Monty Don and Anne Wareham

March 5, 2013

A few weeks ago Matthew Appleby published a piece here about the use of celebrities in the media. It produced a great deal of comment, which you can see here, together with the original piece. In the course of all that comment it seemed to me that the topic moved on a little – or [...]

Institutional Gardens – are they all awful? by Anne Wareham

January 23, 2013

I posted this first on the Veddw blog, which I am sure you are all familiar with. But just in case you’re not, and because of the enthusiastic response it received in the social media, (where so many comments happen now, off site, sadly) and in the post comments, I am also publishing it here. Anne [...]


Aberglasney, a review by Anne Wareham

September 27, 2012

I visited Aberglasney in September this year (2012) and so took the opportunity to review it for thinkingardens. By way of an extra. Anne Wareham, editor Aberglasney The garden at Aberglasney burst into the world in a television series some years ago. The series was based round the archaeological work which was going on, and [...]

Chelsea 2012 by Anne Wareham

May 22, 2012

I did my usual for Chelsea – asked people I met on Press Day a question I thought would be of interest to thinkingardeners. Less celebrities this time. All pictures by Charles Hawes, but the unnamed person in them, while bearing a passing resemblance to me, is clearly fifteen years older and much heavier… Anne Wareham editor [...]


Chelsea best: “Quiet Time: Korean DMZ Forbidden Garden” designed by Jihae Hwang

May 22, 2012

I’d like to say just how different the “Quiet Time: Korean DMZ Forbidden Garden” is. It gained Gold for its sheer quality and the excellence of the design, but its remarkable feature was the fact that it  has powerful and accessible emotional content.  This was no facile ‘theme’ but a discussion of reconciliation and healing [...]

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 [...]


The Laskett reviewed by Emma Bond

July 8, 2011

“It is a shame that Sir Roy Strong is subjected to the now-obligatory drivel about his being a ‘national treasure’, because this unthinking cliché diminishes his contribution, over more than 50 years, to our cultural life, whether as a curator or, in later times, as a gardener.” Simon Heffer in The Spectator 6th August 2011 [...]

Chelsea 2011 by Anne Wareham

May 24, 2011

Chelsea 2011 “Is Chelsea still relevant?” – with thanks to Lila de Gupta for the question. This year I was wondering about the relevance of Chelsea and of show gardens in particular. I think that they are the joyful celebration of gardens made simply for the delight of looking at them (from the outside). I [...]


Veddw reviewed by Bridget Rosewell

May 9, 2011

Just to wind up Matthew Appleby, who is complaining there is too much Veddw on this site… Having just been sent the review I can’t resist adding it to thinkinGardens – and I think I have earned a bit of self indulgence. Anne Wareham editor.   Bridget Rosewell: The garden made by Anne Wareham and [...]

Gardens Illustrated Award: comment by Anne Wareham

January 31, 2011

“Gardens are like theatre in that you have to be there to judge them. It is not enough to review a play by looking at the publicity photographs and hearing a second hand account. It is not good enough to judge a restaurant by looking at the menu and hearing what someone else thought. It is not good enough to judge a garden by looking at slides and hearing one person’s opinion of it.”

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