Gardens Illustrated Magazine August 2021

In this issue of Gardens Illustrated we focus on design and planting ideas for small gardens, including a colourful, useful space outside an architecturally designed house in Clapham, a serpentine garden inspired by an adjacent water reserve and a family garden in Kent using vernacular materials. Cool planting with a polish is the recurring theme. Further afield, on page 88, we visit the intriguing garden of a post-modern Californian house designed by West Coast movers and shakers Terremoto. The design of the garden includes native Californian trees and hints of the scrub and chaparral of the local landscape with the intention of drawing people and nature together. In the 1950s Vita Sackville-West wrote from Sissinghurst that ‘Everyone knows that the seeds of hardy annuals may be sown in August and September, and…

Lia Leendertz Lia visits Louise Dowding’s garden, page 50. “Louise’s garden has such a strong personality, and makes wonderful use of shades of green and of textures and shapes. It’s a real feast for the eyes.” Caitlin Atkinson Caitlin shoots an LA garden by design studio Terremoto, page 88. “The art of garden making embodied in Terremoto’s planned wildness, uncoiling from the post-modern house, is pure magic.” Britt Willoughby Dyer Britt photographs a beautifully tended Somerset garden, page 50. “A garden of two halves, cleverly combining formality and informality. A joy to observe and capture.”…

James Basson James lives in the South of France where he runs Scape Design with his wife Helen, 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…

Deeper connections Ask a group of garden designers to name their favourite garden, and there is one name you will hear time and time again: Rousham. Designed in the 18th century by William Kent, the Oxfordshire garden has changed little since Kent’s day, and remains hugely influential. For the past 25 years the artist Francis Hamel has lived in a cottage within its grounds and paints in a studio just a short walk from his front door. During lockdown he had the gardens largely to himself and turned the order to stay at home into an opportunity to capture their magical, empty beauty on canvas. His collection of paintings from that time, including The Statue of Apollo depicting Rousham’s famous Elm Walk in dappled light (above), will feature in a new…

Newborn Harkness Roses has launched a new rose ‘The Lion’ to mark the 90th birthday of actress Virgina McKenna, and to recognise her work as a wildlife campaigner. Also known as the Born Free Rose, ‘The Lion’ is both a salute to McKenna’s 1969 film Born Free, and to the animal conservation charity she and her late husband, the actor Bill Travers, set up in its name, with £2.50 from each sale of ‘The Lion’ donated to the Born Free Foundation. The floribunda shrub rose has vibrant orange blooms in tones that evoke the skies of the Kenyan savannah and a strong perfume. Available now as a pot rose for £15.99, or from autumn as a bareroot rose for £13.99 from roses.co.uk A flair for floristry Constance Spry was one of the most…

1 Displays Decoded Learn more about the symbiotic relationship of plants and insects at this innovative, multi-sensory exhibition at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden, which takes inspiration from several sources, including 17th-century Dutch flower paintings and the latest scientific research. The Holmes, Stoke Park Road, Bristol BS9 1JG. Until 30 September, 10am-4.30pm. £5. Tel 0117 428 2041. botanic-garden.bristol.ac.uk 2 Highgrove Garden Tour Enjoy a guided tour through HRH The Prince of Wales’s Gloucestershire garden, and get an insight into its history and design inspiration. 23-31 August, 10am-4pm. £29.50. Highgrove House, Doughton, Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8QT. highgrovegardens.com 3 Helmsley Walled Garden Open Day Take the opportunity to visit the five-acre Helmsley Walled Garden in North Yorkshire on its National Garden Scheme evening opening. The garden has more than 100 apple cultivars, a medicinal herb garden,…