Gardens Illustrated Magazine January 2022

January is the month for making a fresh start and looking to the future, with plans for the year ahead in the garden forming vividly in our minds. We stare out over our sleeping plots, trying to remember all the things we meant to make note of last summer, and set our imaginations free, dreaming up exciting new developments in design and planting. We may not always follow through on those grand plans made on dark winter nights by the fire, as we scour plant catalogues and enticing garden images, but the very act of stopping to look, reassess and get a wider perspective on our growing space, however big or small, can be a really valuable and enjoyable exercise. This issue we have plenty of ideas to help you in this…

Charlotte Harris Charlotte suggests her 100 must-have plants, page 23. “It’s been a tough ask to narrow this down to just 100. I’ve aimed for a good mix of plants that are interesting, beautiful and hard-working.” Marianne Majerus Marianne photographs a London garden, page 54. “Visiting this garden by Tom Stuart-Smith was a delight; my favourite plants were at their freshest and greenest. A veritable bain de fraîcheur.” John Hoyland John learns about multi-stem trees, page 80. “Philip Nieuwoudt from New Wood Trees is an advocate of multi-stem trees and his enthusiasm made me want to consider one for my own garden.”…

James Basson James lives in the South of France where he runs Scape Design, a practice specialising in low-maintenance and dry gardens. He is a fervent advocate for creating sustainable landscapes. The winner of four Chelsea Gold medals, he was awarded Best in Show in 2017. Fergus Garrett Fergus was appointed head gardener at Great Dixter by Christopher Lloyd in 1993. He is passionate about passing on his knowledge through student programmes at Dixter and worldwide lectures. He was awarded an RHS Associate of Honour in 2008 and an RHS Victoria Medal of Honour in 2019. Anna Pavord Anna’s books include her bestseller The Tulip and most recently Landskipping. For 30 years she was The Independent’s gardening correspondent. In 2000 the RHS awarded her the Veitch Memorial Medal. She lives and gardens in Dorset. Dan Pearson Dan…

Gordon Castle Walled Garden in Moray has won the Historic Houses Garden of the Year Award. It’s the first time a Scottish garden has been the public’s clear favourite since 1984, with the walled garden picking up more than 3,000 of the 11,000 votes cast. A substantial part of Gordon Castle’s land was sold in the mid 20th century and much of the building demolished. The surviving parts are now home to Angus and Zara Gordon Lennox, who, along with their team of gardeners, have spent the past seven years restoring the eight-acre kitchen garden – one of the largest walled gardens in the UK – working to a design by Arne Maynard. The garden has gone from a bare patch of ground to a productive space growing fruit, herbs,…

Just when we think all is quiet within our gardens and the plant world in midwinter, a new landmark series from the BBC is here to remind us that there’s a lot more going on than we might think. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, The Green Planet will air on BBC One early this year, and will unearth some unusual behaviour, emotional tales and surprising heroes from our mostly overlooked but interconnected plant kingdom. Using new developments in robotics, time-lapse and thermal cameras, this five-part series promises to reveal things that are usually invisible to the human eye, so we can witness the drama of the plant world unfold before us. Find out more at bbc.co.uk…

The RHS Lindley Library in London houses one of the world’s largest collections of botanical prints, illustrations and plates. Its incredible archive has been delved into by decorative painting expert Annie Sloan, who has collaborated with the RHS on a range of decoupage paper kits (shown here is Mint taken from volume 1 of Regne Vegetal c. 1790-1820). The art of découpage – decorating furniture, objects and interiors with paper cut-outs sealed in place with varnish – was popular during Victorian times. Find the découpage kits, for £11.95, at anniesloan.com…