Here is a tale for those new and inexperienced in the garden world. Someone making a garden and hoping for recognition, maybe someone wanting to write about gardens and to move beyond their blog. In other words, someone who is hoping to make a name for themselves in the garden world in spite of having an acute intelligence and strong opinions. I think I am just about old enough and successful enough now to tell this tale.
Anne Wareham, editor.
It’s hard to know, at this distance, just how I got a reputation for being ‘difficult’. It began over 30 years ago, before social media and indeed before the internet. We started making a garden out of two fields and it was a hard and lonely task. So at some point we decided to open the garden and to make contact with the garden world and so we invited the NGS.
And that was a delight and a shot in the arm, thanks in particular for the support and sympathy we received from Daphne Foulsham (then President, I think, and now a Vice President of the National Gardens Scheme ) I can’t thank her enough for her encouragement. We opened for our own garden funds too and one of our first shocks was that people will come for charity, but not to support the gardens’ funds. (Hundreds one day, a couple the next). So it was a long climb to getting attention and visitors.
We were chuffed to appear in various guides eventually – these were the mark of arrival at that time: The Good Gardens Guide, The RHS Garden Finder and the BBC Garden Lover’s Guide to Britain. Until one year we failed to receive an invitation to update our details for The RHS Garden Finder. No explanation, but what I found on the RHS website under our name, for all the world to see (these were early days of websites and not everyone knew how to use them properly) was the following, written by the editor in block capitals: – “NB.THIS GARDEN IS NOT TO BE RECONSIDERED FOR INCLUSION UNTIL CHARLES HAWES APOLOGIES (sic) FOR THE UNTRUE AND DEFAMATORY STATEMENTS HE MADE ABOUT ME TO THE RHS.”
We never did find out what on earth Charles was supposed to have said (or how). It was probably someone else. But as a garden struggling to attract visitors it was a big blow. For those who didn’t see the website (and the comment was swiftly removed when we drew attention to it) our non appearance in the guide must surely have looked like we were not worth visiting.
But visitors did continue to come.
We came to discover that unlike in some more robust worlds, the garden world cannot tolerate any criticism at all and in spite of looking like such a wonderful happy world full of smiley people and lovely gardens, those smiley people will astonish with their venom.
A prominent and, in places, well-loved garden designer bawled me out for half an hour in public at Chelsea Flower Show for publishing a critique of one of his gardens – memorably telling me that the writer, in this case an eminent economist, had ‘no right to criticise gardens’. I published another review of a garden on thinkingardens and was told I was ‘killing’ the garden owner. It was clear I was supposed to take this literally, in spite of the review being very even handed and written by an award winning writer who writes book reviews professionally. Extremely nasty emails from garden professionals have dropped in my inbox from time to time.
The then editor of The Garden bravely agreed to publish a review of a garden (as opposed to the ‘garden stories’ which are what magazines habitually publish.) So a famous writer and I wrote such a review – with the garden owner’s permission. It’s hard to imagine just how complacent they must have been about it when they agreed, because once they saw what we had to say all the hell they were capable of was let loose. Complaints and threats to us, the magazine and the RHS Council, no less. Our review, rather toned down, was published but that exercise has never been repeated in The Garden.
A certain magazine took umbrage when I suggested that looking at photographs of gardens was no way for people who had not visited the relevant gardens to judge the ‘Garden of the Year’. End of being published there. And when they did a tour of the South Wales Border (which is not overwhelmingly full of truly great gardens..) that tour sailed past a rejected Veddw. A garden writer who took umbrage at being refused when he asked to bring some friends to see Veddw has done a South Wales Border tour doing the same.
We opened under the National Gardens Scheme long enough to get our silver trowel. Then we got thrown out. That story is here. https://veddw.com/general/opening-for-the-ngs/.
And so it goes on. There has been more, there no doubt will be more, but the lessons are here by now. Which are?
Maybe don’t include opening your garden – it makes it too easy for people in the garden establishment to punish you.
However, you may just not know about it if you aren’t such a sitting target. I’ve heard, because I know people, that some television companies won’t touch me or Veddw – but I only know because I know people. You never inevitably know why you’re not asked to write, to present or appear on a show, or get any other sort of work in the garden world. But if you’ve offended someone, my examples might make you guess.
You don’t need to be thick skinned. It’s a fantasy to suggest that you have to be able to ‘take it’ if you ‘dish it out.’ You won’t be given a choice and I have no doubt pain is part of opening your garden and writing about gardens even if you’re sweet as pie. There will be rejections, jealousies and nasties.
The really important thing, I’d say, if you’re going to be successful and critical of aspects of the garden world, then you need to be good.
Veddw currently has a substantial number of garden visitors and garden tours; I have bestselling books, articles in magazines and newspapers (sometimes) and an internationally popular website. All of which vouches for the reassuring fact that powerful and influential people may hate and spite you, but they can’t stop you succeeding. There are lots of people out there publishing, filming, lecturing and the like and not all of them are going to be influenced by others in the garden world.
Work hard at being the very best you are capable of being – ask for and use criticism if you can get it. (And don’t be chuffed about praise of your garden until you know what other gardens this person admires. You will be shocked and disappointed.) And for heaven’s sake risk speaking out. The garden world needs it maybe even more than the political world.
Anne Wareham.
PS What’s really shocking me now is that no-one appears to be shocked. We’ve been terribly naive it seems. This piece is not about the merits, or lack of them, of garden criticism but being astonished at how professional smiley people behave behind the scenes…….
I actually was not shocked or astonished at how professional smiley people behave behind the scenes…….I find it frustrating and disappointing that many people seem to be that way. They hide their true emotions to your face, but then they feel obligated to spew out it publicly somewhere else.
I was more concerned that you had to experience the brunt of this dishonesty.
Thank you. I guess I’ve always been shocked when people break what are rules of behaviour for me. Many people are very strong on some aspects (mustn’t criticise people’s gardens) but seem quite cheerful about others – editors grossly abusing their power, for example.
I would just like to add that I no longer use the Yellow Book as any sort of guide to gardens in the UK. It reliably helps one find expensive cake and a loo but as an overseas visitor my time is very limited. I keep cuttings from magazines and newspapers, watch GW , attend plant society lectures and ask every nursery owners for their recommendations. I have visited a great many gardens over the years and generally find simething to appreciate.
Proper research ought to pay off. Need help of some honest comments about gardens if you’re really not to waste your time, as we did recently. Four hour trip….
I once went to see a house and garden in Greece, I was very very disapointed because the Parthenon and gardens were not finished in fact they seemed to still under construction. Even though there were 1000’s of visitors arriving every day to view it.
Bit like most gardens and the people who own and maintain them.
Still the Parthenon will be nice when is finished, with some nice curtains to perhaps..
Tintern Abbey is sadly a bit like that here.
The comparison with curtain criticism is not quite correct. Do that at a party at your peril…but if the house in question is considered by the owners to be fabulous enough to open it to the public and charge people good money to see it, and welcome some column inches for the sake of PR and they have questionable curtains …they should expect someone to mention it.
Now the trouble starts… it is most upsetting to see that opinion in print, especially if the owners have spent a lot of time choosing the fabric and sewing those curtains and they are proud of them, and no one else seems to mind them. Indeed, the effort stands out, and after a dozen visitors cooing, ‘oh, that’s interesting’ the owners will be lulled into interpreting that as wholehearted approval and they will puff up with pride. Expect a vicious reaction if you stick a pin in them – you have wounded them to the core.
They forget that it is the British way to knife in the back – ‘Jeez did you see those curtains, what were they thinking, the fabric is vile!’. But very few will mention it publicly, because broad daylight stabbing is not allowed…no….because the house originated as a private concern and only opened to earn some dosh for charity….how lovely and kind of the owners…
The myth builds over the years, the entry price increases…the cake is no longer as good and the curtains are still f**king awful but no one dares say anything….because the house has now become a major tourist destination, and most people come for the cake, not the curtains.
Other arts have robust professional critics – restaurants, art, fashion, architecture – but they all started off as a commercial enterprise for monetary reward, and brace themselves for criticism from day 1. Gardens and houses are shackled by their original intentions of private loveliness.
Garden visiting now traumatizes me to the extent that I consider shelling out a fiver trying not to spot horrid things a pretty poor use of my limited spare time.
We have an NGS garden nearby so comprehensively awful that indeed there have been many criticisms so vociferous that the county organizer is now rather embarrassed and has told the owner that she can open only By Appointment next year. Heaven forbid she tells her she can’t open at all, it is for charity….and her cake is good…
So collective criticism of the truly bad has some effect. Be a lone voice of criticism of the merely bland but generally liked, at your peril…try it…let me know how that goes…Anne will tell you.
I really enjoyed reading your article Anne and definately can relate.
I’ve opened my garden to the public from time to time and more recently, put our house on the market to sell.
One thing I’ve learnt is that there is no accounting for taste!?
Everyone has different views and some more critical or complimentary than others.
If I think it’s constructive criticism, i humbly take it on the chin and perhaps learn from it but if people want to be damm right rude, then fight back and stand up for yourself. Quite often these people get a kick out of upsetting apple cart and invariably it’s because for some inexplicable reason they don’t want other people to succeed.
Gardens like any form of art are very subjective and you have to have a thick skin and accept the status quo sometimes.
I’ve always encouraged and benefited from criticism of Veddw. That’s never been the problem. When it’s right it hits you with the force of an express train and work on remedy has to begin the very next day!
I enjoyed reading your firsthand experience. As the garden designer, author and owner of the botanical garden & organic perennial nursery Plant Paradise Country Gardens I have found it best not to listen to anyone’s opinion, (except my husband’s). I just keep plodding along and do the best I can do with what little time that is available. The garden is changing daily and there are only fleeting moments of perfection. I am my worst critic. Everyone has their own opinion, be it good or bad. Of course they all think their opinion is right. If a garden is worth seeing the public will always find the way. I appreciate your honesty in writing about your past experiences. You have had some challenging business setbacks, but you have persevered and succeeded.
Thank you, Lorraine. I have valued other people’s serious criticism of the Veddw always and have invited it. We become confluent with our own work, seeing it as we do, every day and a fresh eye is invaluable. Worth thinking about? I wrote about it here – https://veddw.com/annes-writing/being-criticised-by-anne-wareham/.
I agree completely with the article https://veddw.com/annes-writing/being-criticised-by-anne-wareham/. We have always employed the method of “edit and focus”. We are not attached to plants, but to the entire overall effect. In our cold Canadian climate there always seems to be some plant loss which gives us an opportunity to move in a different artistic direction. I do agree that it is very beneficial to listen to the serious criticism from select peers. I am always open to change and some really good advice. Thanks for the great advice and well-written articles!
Thanks for this, Lorraine. I think I should move and join you! Xxx
Look forward to seeing you someday….xxx
Me you!
As an American gardener who is neither a blogger nor a garden writer, your post has me wondering about the value of published criticism of gardens and implicitly those who design and maintain them. Are such critiques primarily intended as a public service to help steer those who might have to make choices about which garden destinations are worthwhile visiting (as with a restaurant or theatre review)? Or rather is it a platform for those who prize their own opinions to seek to develop an admiring audience or readership? If guidance and feedback to fellow gardeners were the primary motivation, wouldn’t private communication be the avenue to avoid the drama you describe?
I try to avoid attempting to interpret people’s motivations, Eric. We tend not to really know our own, never mind other people’s.
Garden visiting is a very popular thing in the uk and having a basis for the choice of visits is valuable. I’m not sure how private communication could meet that objective.
There is also an intrinsic value to criticism of an art form – as I discussed here https://veddw.com/annes-writing/gardens-need-critics-by-anne-wareham-for-the-garden-design-journal/
Anne: Well articulated criticism is an art form. But there is a reason that fellow artists are generally not ideally suited nor ideal candidates to guide the public. Their own artistic mission could skew their capacity to have the rigor and objectivity of a professional critic. Their criticism might be unintentionally skewed to move others to see the world with their own vision. That said, a community of artists informally offering their perceptions to one another is extraordinarily useful to open minded makers whose need for feedback overrides their potentially fragile ego.
However, fellow artists often do fill that function, for good or ill. In the garden world, no-one fills that function, which is worse.
I think it is up to the garden maker to earnestly request the criticism in way that truly welcomes ALL input, not just favorable. And let’s remember, a good critic should be as skilled in elucidating successes as they with failures.
I believe I may be the only garden owner in the uk who does that. Happy to be wrong about it. There is a universal expectation of praise here.
Not so different here! So, “doing unto others….” being a guiding life strategy for me, I tend to engage gardeners who have opened their properties for a visit to test their interest in hearing what I have to say by starting with observations of success, and then questioning the intent behind elements I see as missing the mark or simply wrong-headed. Reading the response to such questions can open the dialogue for a fuller critical exchange.
Interestingly, I recently was comparing notes with a fellow gardener who had just visited a well admired garden [by a Thinkingardens commenter, btw] which was open for a charitable fund-raiser. We were both excited by the garden but acknowledged one small zone of the property that seemed to fall flat. I had heard the gardener’s personal explanation of his intent, but frankly didn’t feel comfortable sharing my thoughts for why it was not quite succeeding. I envisioned ways to better achieve the stated goal but saw no clear opportunity to share my thoughts. I hoped another encounter in the future might afford me a chance to offer constructive input to someone clearly intellectually curious enough to receive it. Upon hearing a similar critique from another gardener with an artistic eye, I have a renewed urge to communicate our impressions.
Well, you could write a review of the garden for thinkingardens – that might do it for you? Sounds worth hearing about the garden in some depth.
How clarifying your kind offer is, Anne! But, as I am not “someone who is hoping to make a name for themselves in the garden world” as you postulate in your post. I realize my review would be motivated entirely by a desire for the garden loving public to find opportunity to visit this remarkable garden. Should calling out the modest shortcomings inhibit anyone from visiting, I feel I would have done a public disservice. Focus on “the trouble zone” would be best offered in a private manner to achieve my ends. And here, I would encourage a dialogue, not a monologue because the exchange might be as enlightening in some regard to assess my own biases or perceptions
OK. Xx
I’m not one to go on the attack with gardens; almost without exception gardens are the personal work of one person or a couple/family, and reflect the personality and tastes particular to their creator(s). You wouldn’t enjoy someone coming into your house and tearing you apart for your decor (“are those REALLY the best curtains you could find, and why DO you have this old clock..?”), so you should in turn hold back from being overly vitriolic about someone else’s personal tastes.
But you must have an opinion. Going around from garden to garden in fits of ecstasy because you’ve seen a novelty wishing well/gnome/meerkat statuette that is simply “just so darling” is a sign that you probably need the help of one of the NHS’s many excellent psychiatric institutions. Or you’re lying; it’s a fake act that you put on to give the impression that you are somehow an ‘expert’ on gardens when actually you’re as blind to their subtle nuances as the rest of us.
Like what you like, but allow yourself to be comfortable with things you don’t. If you want garish jarring colour schemes because they make you happy then seek them out. If you want the subtle elegance of a soft pastel border straight out of a 1988 Reader’s Digest book then seek it out. Enjoy the things you love, but accept one simple fact; no garden is ever ‘perfect’. They’re all squashed in here or slightly off there, with plants that do well in this border but look out of place over there, maybe with a tree that is too wonky or just so perfectly shaped it makes the rest of the garden feel odd. There is no such thing as perfection in gardens, not even in the revered gardens like Great Dixter and Sissinghurst, and once you become comfortable with this gardens will all become so much nicer.
Just don’t go out of your way to cause upset; life is often about knowing when to make a point and when to keep your thoughts to yourself.
If I charged entrance to my house I would certainly think people had the right to be critical, Ben.And ideally an open discussion about our preferences, with interiors and exteriors, and the basis of them is welcome.
People do have the right to be critical, but do we have an automatic right to publicly criticise?
A good example from the home of unwarranted criticism, Tripadvisor (OH GOD, BLOODY TRIPADVISOR!!!). A one star review left for a garden because the hedges were untidy in July and, in the eyes of the Tripadvisor contributor, this made the whole garden completely rubbish…
Now I don’t know how you do things at The Veddw but I would imagine that hedges probably get done from August onwards to ‘allow birds to nest’ (read: avoid legal problems around disturbing nesting birds). Most places leave hedges from the 1st of March until the 1st of August, so by the end of July they look a little fuzzy. Not the apocalyptically messy, just a little fuzzy.
The garden in question responded to say that yes, the hedges were unclipped because they are trimmed from August onwards, but here’s the thing: the one star review was there and wasn’t retracted. Someone had put in a review for all to see without having the proper understanding of what they were looking at, and I’m sure that you more than most will appreciate that this sort of thing doesn’t make for a culture of good reviewing.
Let’s take another example here on the ThinkinGardens site (I do read your articles you know!), where you show us a ‘mislabelled plant’ on your review of Kiftsgate. If memory serves it’s a Hosta labelled as ‘Anemone lipsiensis’; I’m 99% certain, and suspect that you know too, that the label was in the correct place and that the Anemone lipsiensis in question had gone into summer dormancy (the label serving the important role of warning gardeners what’s under the ground and, being modern times, telling plant thieves where to dig). How many others would understand this subtle detail, given that it requires a fairly detailed knowledge of the species in question to understand why the label is there?*
It’s important that those who do critique gardens do so with genuine understanding of horticulture as well as the importance of design, but also critique with a degree of humility; when you’re creating something from living media there needs to be an *understanding* of more than just the overall effect at a particular point in time.
*Anemone lipsiensis is a charming little ‘wood anemone’ that grows well in open, friable humus rich soils. Hostas prefer their soils to be a little more substantial, not to mention that they prefer a lot more water in the summer when the Anemone needs a drier dormancy, so at the risk of being overly critical it’s not a wise combination…!
Hi Ben, I don’t know about ‘rights’ – I’m not sure what they mean. If we can do something, it’s up to us to decide about doing it, I think.
I understood that you have to register to be on Trip Advisor, so I can’t imagine for a minute that anyone would register there and not expect all sorts of kinds of criticism.
I have a collection of photos of bizarre labels, should you wish to analyse the reasons for them all, but I think garden visitors think they are there to help them identify plants.
All that aside this is not a piece about garden criticism. We’ve discussed that so much on here. It’s about the dark side of the happy happy garden world. Maybe I shouldn’t have written it. xx