CATEGORY

Fifteen gardeners of distinction reveal the gardens that have inspired their lives and work.

Gardens of Inspiration is an invitation to join fifteen celebrated gardeners on a series of personal journeys to the gardens that inspire their lives and work. These experts describe the stories of their lives in gardening and share the personal connections that have fostered their passion for plants and gardens. Each has chosen one garden, as well as their own, to be photographed especially for this book. The photographer Vivian Russell, drawn to gardens that resonate with the art of their creators, reveals the hidden meaning of a conductor's garden in France. Stephen Anderton finds inspiration in the rollicking shapes and simplicity of design at Levens Hall in Cumbria. For John Brookes, Thomas Church's Sonoma garden in California represents "one of life's great highs." With Beth Chatto we go back in time to meet Cedric Morris, the painter-gardener who turned her world upside down and whose influence lives on in her world-famous Essex garden. Nigel Colborn describes the originality of a Norfolk garden full of "delicious surprises." For Penelope Hobhouse, an Italian Renaissance garden in a unique hillside setting is an enduring source of inspiration. Mary Keen seeks otherworldliness and describes "peace beyond belief" at Beckley in Oxfordshire. Stephen Lacey loves gardens where nature appears to be running the show and finds "near Nirvana" at Portmeirion in Gwynedd, Wales. Christopher Lloyd is excited by the energy and creativity of a plantsman's garden in Brittany. Mirabel Osler is inspired by a garden that merges into the landscape of the Napa Valley. Anna Pavord's passion is for the hidden, then suddenly revealed, formal garden at Mapperton in Dorset. Dan Pearson focuses on gardens that capture a sense of place, and finds romantic fantasy at Ninfa, near Rome. David Stevens is drawn to gardens with underlying geometry. Travels to the Caribbean have inspired Anne Swithinbank but she is drawn back to visit her first love, Kew Gardens in Surrey. Rosemary Verey explores the subtle difference between influential gardeners and inspirational gardens, and explains why the interior design David Hicks inspired her to seek exciting solutions to design problems. Eloquent writing enhanced by outstanding photographs makes Gardens of Inspiration a unique and revealing walk through a wealth of great gardens that have inspired great gardening.