by Germaine Greer.
“Most of our best-known, most-visited gardens are merely pretty, or, worse, picturesque…”
with responses by Anne Wareham, Andrew Wilson, Leigh Hunt, Amanda Patton.
Corinne Julius’ Viewpoint piece for The Garden.
“The preoccupation of many gardeners with plants above all else alienates many artistic observers. It revives the rather outdated arts debate about ‘physical craft’ and ‘intellectual art’, reinforcing the view that gardening is about doing, not thinking…”
by Anne Wareham.
“…other art forms have lots of different categories. Music encompasses pop, jazz, classical, gospel, folk, country; novels can be historical, romantic, sci fi, detective, chick lit., children’s, (with sub sections), pot boilers, page turners, airport novels and literature…”
by Noel Kingsbury and Tim Richardson.
“The reason we feel Vista is necessary now is because there seems to be a gulf between academic writing on gardens which tends to be about history and commercial writing on gardens, which focuses either on practical horticulture and plantsman-ship, or on descriptions of individual gardens.”
Fictional garden judging.
“…It is impossible to sideline personal taste, but she tries to give proper credit to the demonstration of gardening skill and commitment, even when the products of these are a tortuously constructed rockery or a rash of carpet bedding.”
I love my garden, I do. It’s at the heart of my life. But just recently I’ve been drawn back and back to a windowsill with some sweet dwarf pelargoniums.
Many years ago The Financial Times sent me to do a feature on the RHS ‘Flower Show’ at Tatton Park . I was totally naïve and had no idea what I was supposed to do or to write about. So my excitement was tempered by acute anxiety. The term ‘imposter syndrome’ could have been invented for me. […]
In the UK, right now, the horticultural world is about to drive us all mad with snowdrops. Pictures of. Articles about. Gardens with them. Anything people can think of to bash us over the head with snowdrops.
Recently we made a visit to Brecon. This is not far from us, in case anyone was getting over excited about the possibility that I might have been travelling again. It’s in Wales, in the Brecon Beacons, recently re-christened Bannau Brycheiniog.
Charles made a complaint recently when we were walking in the garden.
When I complained about him complaining he told me that it was good for me to have complaints about the planting.
