The 9/11 Memorial Park in New York reviewed by Sheppard Craige
A poignant piece about a very particular site, sensitively ...
‘There is a place for jokes, and a place for not-jokes’ – Ambra Edwards meets Ian Hamilton Finlay
This is the first of a series of repeated and rejuvenated ...
A Chelsea garden in Monmouthshire reviewed by Patterson Webster and Anne Wareham
This is another re-issue, to remind me of a happy ...
A Floral Fantasy by Bill Rose
Bill Rose was the runner up in the thinkingardens ...
A Joy Forever?
The third of three articles by Peter Osbourne. "...But ...
A Matter of Words by Patterson Webster
I’m thinking about words that matter.
A Photographer’s Response to Rory Stuart by Charles Hawes
I was hoping we might hear from photographers in response ...
A slug by any other name by Nick Turrell
And if you said to a neighbour, after hearing a blackbird ...
All that business? by Bella D’Arcy Reed
Those of us who cannot go to Chelsea because of limited ...
An Art Project in Deal
by Christine Finn. "Leave-Home-Stay began as a whole ...
An Economic History of the English Garden by Roderick Floud, reviewed by Bridget Rosewell.
Floud sets out the history of the garden industry. ...
An interesting book review by Abbie Jury
I haven't named the book which is the subject of this ...
An interview with Hans von Trotha by Anke Schmitz
I was wondering who would be the ideal person to interview. ...
Anne Wareham on “Yes, Gardens can be works of art”
"Indeed, I do invite intellectual engagment and I ...
Any Questions by Andrew Wilson
I have regular comments about the planting being the ...
Are Garden Photographs Art? by Charles Hawes
by Charles Hawes. "I wonder what Martin Parr would ...
Are we fed up of them all? by Matthew Appleby
Are gardens and gardeners being well served by the ...
Be critical! by Tristan Gregory
I have had no difficulty getting reviewers of books ...
Blog for Nothing? by Alexandra Campbell
An issue close to the hearts of many of us, I think. ...
Blooming Britain by Christine Dakin
Well, what do you think? Do you enjoy seeing our towns ...
Bring Me Stories, Bring Me Songs, by Caleb Melchior
This is effectively the third post about Conceptual ...
Can a walk be a garden? The High Line revisited by Bridget Rosewell.
We're back, troublesome as ever. Has anyone else bar ...
Can Gardeners be Considered Artists? by Gary Webb
"I tend to think that in professionally tended gardens, ...
Can professional designers really hope to emulate those for whom a garden is a life’s work?
These are high achievements for professional designers ...
Chelsea 2012 by Anne Wareham
I did my usual for Chelsea - asked people I met on ...
Chelsea 2013 uncovered by Charles Hawes
The photographers hope to get a press pass again next ...
Chelsea 2013, some thoughts from Anne Wareham
This year was marked for me by having one garden that ...
Chelsea is nothing to do with Garden Design by Rupert Butcher.
Rupert Butcher takes issue with the relevance of Chelsea ...
Chelsea or Chaumont? by Catharine Howard
"Have issue. You were so adamant that you wouldn’t ...
Closing Time: Goodbye to Hummelo by Tony Spencer
The private garden of Piet and Anja Oudolf at Hummelo ...
Clump or Mingle? by Noel Kingsbury
Now, after all that discussion and noise in response ...
Colour! by Nigel Dunnett.
Ever since the Popes (remember them? Hadspen?) foretold ...
Commercial at what cost? by Anne Wareham
I've thought a lot about what Troy Scott-Smith is ...
Community Gardens: do we care?
I am very busy just now, so instead of the usual post ...
Considerations for garden visitors by Anne Wareham
by Anne Wareham. "Try some adjectives: - risk taking, ...
Conspicuous Design by Tim Richardson
I am very grateful for the generosity of Tim Richardson ...
Denmans – Why does it “work” – or rather why do visitors like it?
by John Brookes. "Gardening is to do with continual ...
Designers Damned by Lou Nicholls
I know that garden designers, gardeners and garden ...
Designing a Conceptual Garden by Jay Sifford
Here is Jay Sifford's take on designing conceptual ...
Do me a big favour? by Anne Wareham
Do me a big favour - share this with someone who finds ...
Does employing a garden designer lose you your garden? by Michael McCoy
Perhaps it's not easy to feel that your garden is ...
Doing the Art by Holly Allen
What is it like to create a garden as a work of art? ...
Everyone has their idea of paradise: an interview with John Sales by Anne Wareham
I’ve been preoccupied with the gap between the professionally ...
Garden allusions, by Noel Kingsbury, Anne Wareham, and Yue Zhuang
This piece, originally posted as 'Allusion in Gardens' ...
Garden bloggers: braggarts? by Jane Scorer
As someone who has been damned for being a self promoter, ...
Garden Hero at Chelsea by Simon Webster
Garden Hero's entry for the thinkingardens Chelsea ...
Garden History – issues by Sara Venn
The use of 'historic styles' in gardens raises some interesting ...
Garden Opening : we think.
People's thoughts, motivations and experiences in ...
Garden Photographs – some problems, by Rory Stuart
Many of us have got great reservations about how gardens ...
Garden regionally, get inspired globally by Marianne Willburn
But to dream, and perhaps more importantly, to innovate, ...
Gardeners, Designers – or Garden Makers? by Anne Wareham
My apologies. This was not the piece I intended to ...
Gardening in the Wilderness: do we need a revolution in the garden? by Lucy Masters
Suppers are back! Well - one is, thanks to the effort ...
Gardens Illustrated Award: comment by Anne Wareham
"Gardens are like theatre in that you have to be there ...
Germaine Greer: Yes, Gardens can be works of art – but you’d never know it from the Chelsea Flower show.
by Germaine Greer. "Most of our best-known, most-visited ...
Getting youngsters into horticulture: why bother? by Rachel the Gardener
Our regular readers will observe that we have a new ...
Gifting the Ephemeral
. And now, knowing we won’t live forever, we’re ...
Go it alone? by Rory Stuart
It's an odd way to approach something which should ...
Gold at the Olympic Park by Bridget Rosewell
Meadows now cover a multitude of sins - or at least, ...
Hampton Court Health Warnings by Helen Gazeley.
“Most artists aren’t that philosophical or conceptual. ...
How can sense of place help optimise the garden visitor experience? by Janna Schreier
Well, if you wondered how Janna got on with your responses ...
How do you like your edges? by Thomas Stone
I have a permanent argument with at least one good ...
How many is enough? Or too many?…by Katherine Crouch
You will all note with horror just how long ago it ...
I Hate Designing Gardens by Suzanne Albinson
by Suzanne Albinson. "the client went to a local nursery ...
I’m not renewing my RHS Membership by Julieanne Porter
Having just been exposed to the expensive bonanza ...
Identity Crisis by Ben Probert
"I will concede that there are plenty of dreadful ...
If not spectacle, what? by Tristan Gregory
Last week Tristan Gregory proposed that we may need ...
Introduction from “Vista – The Culture and Politics of Gardens”
by Noel Kingsbury and Tim Richardson. "The reason ...
Is it possible to critique a garden without understanding the designer’s intent? by Felicity Waters
A discussion piece - what do we want from a garden? ...
It’s Everywhere – Michael King on Naturalistic Planting.
Michael King has just stirred things up again by publishing ...
James van Sweden – a memoir by Noel Kingsbury
A short time ago James van Sweden died. I vividly ...
Just a gardener – Just? by Stephen Hackett
We've had a lot of responses to Nick Turrell's piece, ...
Killing Groundhogs by Pamela Ruch
We all identify with the fury garden pests can rouse ...
Lagerfeld Rules – should he ever turn his attention to gardening, by Abbie Jury
I love the way thinkingardens reaches across the world. ...
Lawrence Halprin’s Heritage Plaza: A Crying Shame by Susan Cohan
"Despite my swagger, I’m a softy. I well up in tears ...
Light, time and tradition
by Bridget Rosewell. A response to Peter Osbourne's ...
Little Sparta by Tim Richardson
by Tim Richardson. "....we are reminded of Finlay’s ...
Messing about in Boats by Cherie Lebbon
“Here today, up and off to somewhere else tomorrow! ...
Mingle or clump? by Thomas Rainer
This is old and gold - a post by Thomas Rainer followed ...
More Chelsea
I'm risking boring everyone with more Chelsea stuff ...
More on garden photography – by Laurent Kalfala and Gary Webb
The response to the pieces on garden photography was ...
My First Garden by Valerie Lapthorne
"Its misfortune, however, was to have been in the ...
Naff names by Katherine Crouch
There may be slightly less posting here over the next ...
Naturalistic Planting is anything but, by Michael King
There has been a great deal of animated discussion ...
New Perennials and Structure
I find myself wondering if one of the things which ...
New Perennials and Structure, Facebook Discussion 2.
It’s based on values like sustainability, low maintenance, ...
Nine Questions – Duncan Brine
by Susan Cohan. An interview with American garden ...
Nine Questions – Michelle Derviss
by Susan Cohan. An interview with American Garden ...
Now ranting!
Garden Rant has definitely got exciting, outspoken ...
On women, landscaping and show gardening by Sue Beesley
"I happen to like physical work and expect to pull ...
Otherworldly Gardens by Mary Keen
"The question to ask is, ‘what is here that is true, ...
Painswick Rococo Garden – 21 images from the Art in the Garden exhibition by Anne Wareham
I cannot claim this as a review - rather the editor's privilege to ...
Parks or Gardens? by Alison Levey.
We (Charles Hawes and I) have been puzzled for years ...
Peer review by Bunny Guinness
Bunny Guinness recently wrote this piece for the Telegraph ...
Personal or Commercial Garden? by Anne Wareham
What I'm wondering is, do you, as a thinkingardener, ...
Philosophy in the Garden by Damon Young, reviewed by John Clarke
Anne Wareham, editor It's that time again: thank you ...
Pleasance in Suburbia by Genny Twigg
We've all read something like it.... Anne Wareham, ...
Politicising Plants
I don't imagine you expected the world of horticulture ...
Pothole Gardens by Felicity Waters
"...the photos below show the best form of roadscaping ...
Reflections on Garden Discourse
by Darryl Moore. The relation between gardens and ...
Representation of gardens and landscape by Caleb Melchior
Anne Wareham, editor Here's a topic which has preoccupied ...
RHS consulation on the judging at Chelsea – response by Victoria Summerley
The RHS has just held a forum to discuss and get responses ...
RHS judging: an interview with an RHS judge by Victoria Summerley
It may seem difficult to believe in the current wintry ...
Robin’s Big Statement by Paul Morgan
Here is another re-issue, to keep you properly entertained ...
Should we trust anyone’s opinion on a garden except our own?
by Tim Richardson. "Beth Chatto's garden was never ...
Show gardens: what are they for? by Wanda Oprea
I would like to propose that show gardens could be ...
Sissinghurst: monochromatic colour schemes, by Abbie Jury
"All the same, I cannot help hoping that the great ...
Slow Gardening by Sally Gregson
Do you have the patience? Here is Sally Gregson, shooting ...
So why do we have so many ugly gardens?
by Anne Wareham. "This bed appears to have no purpose ...
Spectacle – or not? by Tristan Gregory
Here are thoughts about how people in the past created ...
Spraying Gold Medals like Confetti by Janey Auchincloss
Janey Auchincloss contemplated the issue of sponsorship ...
Strictly Come Chelsea by Victoria Summerley
This piece is another act of dedication and concern ...
Taste and Themes at Chelsea by Daniel Bristow
Quite a few of us have ideas about themes and taste ...
The Battery Bosque: prairie as metaphor by James Golden
"What better designer than Piet Oudolf, who works ...
The Best Garden I visited: Dixter x Two
I have heard it said that you shouldn't meet your ...
The Cost of a Garden by Tristan Gregory
I have to report, with mixed feelings, that the demands ...
The End of Botanical Gardens? by Ewan Michaels
The Botanic Garden of Wales always seemed an odd idea, ...
The gardens of Manoir d’Eyrignac and Marqueyssac France, by Bridget Rosewell.
Some pieces hang around a bit long (sorry everyone) ...
The High Line: more than the sum of its parts
"But it wasn’t Piet Oudolf who got most of the early ...
The Importance of Labels by Rachel The Gardener
I won't generally label plants at Veddw, not just ...
The Lesson of Beth Chatto’s Gravel Garden
Troy Scott-Smith suggested that Andrea Russo and ...
The Love of the Familiar by Alison Levey
A nearly - winner in the Chelsea 2013 competition. ...
The love that dare not speak its name
by Anne Wareham. On Beauty and Gardens - "....So often ...
The Mad Enterprise of Starting a New Garden by Bridget Hannigan
Just over 30 years ago I started making the garden ...
The Monster Outside by Valerie Lapthorne
I know this feeling very well, and I think we will ...
The practicalities of making a garden by Mary Keen
"Like painters, gardeners select, discard and re-arrange. ...
The Problems with Conceptual Gardens by Charlie Bloom
Though all artistry has a concept at design, the definition ...
The Things a Garden Centre Won’t Tell You
by Suzanne Albinson. "Perhaps it would behove us to ...
The Thinking Gardens Supper – what was it like? by Lucy Masters
At last - the account of the thinkingardens supper, ...
The Ultimate Visitor Experience by Janna Schreier
This is the question that a great many of us would ...
Three Actors by Tristan Gregory
Speaks for itself, this article. It comes with a great ...
Three views of the RHS by Elizabeth Musgrave
Apologies - this one has jumped the queue.. (nothing ...
Tim Richardson challenges ‘real gardeners’ over garden design
"The anti-design agenda of some parts of the horticultural ...
Too Many Things by Catharine Howard
Catharine Howard asks what the RHS is up to and why ...
Tradition
"Maintaining tradition is only really helpful when ...
Tranquil Havens full of Birdsong by Abbie Jury
This is another longish one I've let by, just as a ...
Tranquillity, trees and school trips by Alison Levey
Generally we associate gardens with peace and quiet, ...
Try formality? by Susan Cohan
Our last piece was by Michael King and suggested that ...
Volunteer Gardeners: The Enemy Within, by Rachel Cassidy
Are you a garden volunteer? Or a professional gardener? ...
Want to get Published? by Claire Austin
If you've ever wondered about the freedom of no agent, ...
We closed our garden, by Abbie Jury
Yes, this is a conversation we have every year: shall ...
We have the new perennials but where is the new perennial garden? by Noel Kingsbury.
This is another re-issue, in this case to celebrate ...
We need more secret gardens by Andrew Leslie
The book ‘The Secret Garden’ was an important ...
We should find out what people think by Anne Wareham
Mary Keen recently came across a blog post which was ...
Well loved – or totally forgotten? Russell Page Exhibition reviewed by Francois Gordon
Russell Page is being honoured at present by the Garden ...
What do we want the garden media for? by Monty Don and Anne Wareham
A post prompted by this piece by Matthew Appleby Anne ...
What does ‘wild’ actually mean? by Debbie Wilson
Ah, who'd be fashionable? Or classy? Someone else ...
What goes? by Anne Wareham
So - would anyone take over thinkingardens if I gave ...
What is Natural? by Emma White
We love to talk about 'natural' gardens - but ...
What is the Purpose of a Garden? by Tim Ingram
We have frequently discussed whether gardens could ...
What Kind of Dream? by Lucy Masters
This is the entry which won first prize in the 2013 ...
What style? by Kate Cox
If you're a garden designer, do you design gardens ...
Will they get it? A review of the Native Plant Garden at NYBG by Susan Cohan
This is an interesting review of a garden - and, as ...
Worthy but wasted? by Jill Sinclair
Here we are again, after a short break which had you ...
Would you be a gardener? by Nick Turrell
I hate the image of gardeners that we are routinely ...
You may do unexpected things – a book review by James Golden
This looks like an unusually exciting book. (It's ...
Your Views about Views? by Susan Cohan
There has been discussion in the British press recently, ...
