General Interest

  • The 9/11 Memorial Park in New York reviewed by Sheppard Craige

    A poignant piece about a very particular site, sensitively ...

  • A Chelsea garden in Monmouthshire reviewed by Patterson Webster and Anne Wareham

    This is another re-issue, to remind me of a happy ...

  • 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 ...

  • Afterwards by Anne Wareham

    I wonder what will happen to our home and garden after ...

  • 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 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. ...

  • 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 ...

  • Autobiography of a Garden by Patterson Webster: a review

    Autobiography of a Garden is about the garden making, ...

  • 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, ...

  • 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 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 ...

  • 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 ...

  • Do we need Garden Experts? by Anne Wareham

    I know - you waited all this time for a new piece ...

  • Do you dare? by Anne Wareham

    Here is a tale for those new and inexperienced in ...

  • 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 History – issues by Sara Venn

    The use of 'historic styles' in gardens raises some interesting ...

  • 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 ...

  • 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. ...

  • Hort Park, Singapore reviewed by Jonathan Fothergill

    Travel time, readers from UK and USA - here's interesting ...

  • 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 like the grasses: fun at a Gallery.

    Yesterday Charles and I paid a visit to the new gallery,  ...

  • 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 ...

  • 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. ...

  • 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 ...

  • 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, ...

  • 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 ...

  • Posh Day Out for Katherine Crouch

    Although this took place quite some time ago, it seems ...

  • 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 – forever, for everyone? by John Sales

    I thought this response to last week's piece, Commercial ...

  • 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 ...

  • 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 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 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 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 ...

  • 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? ...

  • 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 style? by Kate Cox

    If you're a garden designer, do you design gardens ...

  • 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 ...

  • Your Views about Views? by Susan Cohan

    There has been discussion in the British press recently, ...

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