Sir Roy Strong, with reference to Stephen Anderton's book "Discovering Welsh Gardens" : "It's glorious to have a writer who doesn't hesitate to criticise: 'The roses themselves, all white, are a disaster,' of Bodysgallen, and part of Powis Castle is like 'a Christmas cake sitting in a plate of stew'. If he says something is 'slightly clumsy to my eye' he means it's ghastly." Country Life, March 18th 2009.
Garden Reviews
Sara Maitland on reviews on Maggie Centre, Charing Cross.
Lesley Hegarty on Fundacion Cesar Manrique – El Taro de Tahiche: "..the front garden had the same palm trees, randomly planted aloes, prickly pears and candelabra Euphorbias which give a lot of Lanzarote that half wild, half cultivated look..."
Rober Webber on Maggie Centre, Dundee"....Bizarrely the centre itself is, like a Tardis, bigger than it looks. And its welcome is HUGE."
Lesley Hegarty and Robert Webber on The Courts, Wiltshire: "For example, why are there three different types of hedge around the main lawn just inside the gate – pleached limes, yew battlements and a yew curtain?...."
Robert Webber and Tom Stuart-Smith on Trentham Garden "....The Piet Oudolf Grassland and Perennial Maze successfully draw you forward and suck you along towards a grim and forbidding tower, which reminds you of The Turn of the Screw...."
Robert Webber and Lesley Heggarty on Hanham Court, nr Bristol,.. "Some of the architectural elements are a little chunky and clunky - we are not after all seeing them from beyond the footlights...." AND by Anne Wareham(link): "Hanham Court gardens are our horticultural equivalent of Poundbury, indulging the endless British pleasure in nostalgia."
Robert Webber on The Little Prairie amongst the Houses - Bristol roundabouts and public spaces - "This border on the Wells Road illustrates yet more of the visual problems of introducing herbaceous plants to our streets....."
Robert Webber on Bristol University garden designed by Anne de Verteuil, -...."with their attached benches there is a sense of waiting for something to happen, but we don’t quite know what. A party? I don’t think so."
Anne Wareham on Coton Manor Gardens, Northampton "...This garden is the horticultural equivalent of a Vettriano picture. If you think those are lovely you may well think Coton Manor garden is too. Nice teas."
Lesley Hegarty and Robert Webberon Hidcote - " But, Hidcote now feels impressively and excessively maintained. The Sissinghurst of the1950’s was a little bit shaggy and rough around the edges, blousy and as romantic as its chatelaine - definitely not the clinical showcase it is today...."
Lesley Hegarty and Robert Webber on Garden of Cosmic Speculation - "In this way it reminded us of the ‘wunderkammer’ or cabinet of curiosities which was the mark and the boast of the Renaissance intellectual...."
Tim Richardson on Revisiting The Garden of Cosmic Speculation -" ..The Garden of Cosmic Speculation is no longer a dialogue with the universe, it is a monologue about the universe. It is becoming The Garden of Comic Extrapolation, and someone needs to say it."
Coombe House or Plaz Metaxu reviewed by Stephen Anderton (link) and Darryl Moore (link) - "It is possible for an overpowering intellectual agenda for a garden to be the excuse for unconscious flights of great ugliness. .."
Stephen Anderton and Anne Wareham on Lady Farm reviewed: - "Perhaps the terraces are smaller than the house needs in the face of that big landscape prospect; it makes them seem suburban, a bit 1950s in fact, with the resin fairies....."
James Golden on The Battery Bosque: prairie as metaphor: review - .."What better designer than Piet Oudolf, who works in a vocabulary of plant materials characterized by sturdy geometric form, durable structure, and the ability to provide visual appeal even through winter weather?"
Ambra Edwards on Taj Mahal - "...Or should - at the risk of disappointing tourists - an older, more ‘authentic’ garden be recreated, illustrating the Emperor’s original intentions? "
Robert Webber and Lesley Hegarty on Owlpen Manor - "One doesn’t dispute the limited plant range. However, the plant chosen could have been more singular...."
Robin White on Veddw House Garden - "If I were to give feedback about the garden .. I would say that I would like to see this made sense of...."
Chelsea 2008 various - " It made me feel flat, 'so-whatish' and uninspired. The aspidistra in the corner was nice. "
Comments? Email: anne@veddw.co.uk