When it comes to buying, seeing or enjoying things these days, it is the experience that we are being sold as much as the ‘thing’ itself; the buzz word is experiential. Key brands have concept stores, virtual reality headsets offer a location or activity often far beyond our own limitations, and the major paintings of some of our greatest artists are being experienced as large-scale animations that bring the images to life and take our imaginations in new directions with new insights.
As gardeners though, it’s good to remember that we can achieve our own fully immersive experience in our gardens – a space to be surrounded by plants that bloom and grow, where we share that space with family, friends and wildlife; where past, present and future are right before our eyes and where we can play a role and learn from what’s around us.
All our gardens featured this month share that immersive quality. As part of the re-envisioning of the gardens at Chatsworth, Tom Stuart-Smith has re-engaged visitors to Paxton’s immense Rock Garden; narrow winding paths, fulsome planting and towering rocks create a strong sense of place. At Stokesay Flowers, owners Barney and Victoria Martin have surrounded themselves in the romance of ‘extraordinary English garden flowers’. Part 2 of our series from Alys Fowler on soil encourages us to immerse our hands in the earth, while a small city garden cleverly creates a forest-edge feel with a light, airy tree canopy and restful planting.
We hope you enjoy the experience,
Website gardensillustrated.com
Instagram @gardens_illustrated
Twitter @GdnsIllustrated
Facebook @gardensillustrated