As part of our 30th birthday celebrations, the team looked back on some of their favourite covers.

By Molly Blair

Published: Tuesday, 04 April 2023 at 12:00 am

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This April, we’re celebrating 30 years since the first issue of Gardens Illustrated was published. As part of the festivities, we asked our team to look back and choose some of their favourite covers of all time, here are the results.

Issue 01 – April/May 1993

The first issue of Gardens Illustrated was published in April 1993 with Rosie Atkins as editor. It cost £2.95 and highlights of the issue included:

• A piece about Gertrude Jekyll by Penelope Hobhouse.
• An exploration of gardening in the nineties.
• A feature written by Jamie Compton, who is still the botanical advisor for GI.
• A horticultural horoscope.

 

Favourite covers, as chosen by the Gardens Illustrated team

Issue 93 – June 2004

In June 2004, Claire Foster was Editor of Gardens Illustrated and the price had increased to £3.85. Highlights of the issue included:

• Penelope Hobhouse writing about a hillside garden in Tuscany.
• A plant profile on sea holly.
• A look at the history of poppies.
• A kitchen garden in Kent designed by Arabella Lennox-Boyd.

Issue 107 – November 2005

By November 2005, Juliet Roberts was the Editor of Gardens Illustrated. Highlights of the issue included:

• A look at specialist Chrysanthemum growers.
• A piece by Carol Klein on propagating ferns.
• Roy Lancaster looking at dawn redwoods.
• A horticultural who’s who on Noel Kingsbury written by Rae Spencer-Jones, in which he said “Gardening is not a harmless hobby. It is an intensely political activity.”

Issue 109 – January 2006

In this issue of Gardens Illustrated from 2006, highlights included:

• An interview with Christopher Lloyd conducted by Frank Ronan, in which he said “It was such a relief when I found out that there were other people interested in plants, rather than in being competitive. Competition is so stultifying. You should do things out of enjoyment.”
• A look at Ashwood Nurseries’ hellebore breeding programme.
• Some garden history in the form of an exploration of the Landscape Movement.
• The snowdrops at Painswick Rococo Garden.

Issue 115 – July 2006

This cover from 2006 was a slightly different one for Gardens Illustrated, featuring veg from Cleve West’s allotment. Highlights of the issue included:

• Nigel Dunnett writing about a charity transforming urban wastelands into meadows.
• A page of letters from our readers.
• Dan Pearson writing about Tetrapanax.
• The transformation of the gardens at Trentham under the guidance of Tom Stuart-Smith and Piet Oudolf.

Issue 129 – September 2007

This issue from autumn 2007 featured the eco-garden of John Little, other highlights included:

• 16 of the best species of gladioli.
• A feature by Jekka McVicar looking at uses of the common daisy in her herb column.
• Expert John Hoyland gave his advice on pruning roses.
• A feature about the new glasshouse at Wisley, which opened in the summer of 2007.

Issue 134 – February 2008

Our cover in February 2008 featured the amazing Crocus chrysanthus ‘Gipsy Girl’ from Avon Bulbs shot by Sharon Pearson at the Wisley trial grounds. Other highlights included:

• A look inside the greenhouses of three gardeners.
• Alys Fowler’s advice on preparing the garden for spring.
• A  tour around a stunning garden in Sri Lanka.
• Exploring the snowdrop collection at Colesbourne Park in Gloucestershire.

Issue 136 – April 2008

This spring cover from 2008 features the topiary garden of Charlotte Molesworth, other highlights included:

• A plant profile on species tulips at the trial ground at Wisley.
• Sarah Raven’s recommendations for the herb garden.
• Tim Richardson explored one of Sweden’s first public parks, the Horticultural Society Garden in Gothenburg.
• Andrew Wilson offered advice  for using containers in the garden.

Issue 144 – December 2008

For this winter issue of Gardens Illustrated, the cover featured Rosa ‘Bonica’ and we looked at how to make your own natural Christmas decorations. Other highlights were:

• Designer’s predicted trends for 2009, including hedges and topiary, sustainability and using black paint for walls and fences.
• A look around Gresgarth Hall, the garden of Arabella Lennox-Boyd.
• A plant profile on heathers.
• An interview with Adrian Bloom, of Blooms of Bressingham and Foggy Bottom in Norfolk.

Issue 146 – February 2009

For this issue at the start of 2009 we featured a plant profile on willows, with Salix daphnoides ‘Ruberrima’ on the cover; highlights included:

• The start of a new series looking at gardening heroines starting with Beth Chatto.
• An easy border design idea from Dutch nursery owners Helen Lewis and Wilko Karmelk.
• A look around Charles Darwin’s garden to celebrate his bicentenary year.
• An exploration of wildflowers in South Africa.

Issue 169 – January 2011

The first issue from 2011 featured Pettifers in Oxfordshire on the cover, shot by Clive Nichols. The issue cost £3.95 and other highlights included:

• How to change career to become a garden designer.
• A plant profile on annuals.
• A new year-round gardening series from Carol Klein.
• Recommendations for some of the nicest garden getaways.

Issue 201 – September 2013

By September 2013, Gardens Illustrated cost £4.10 an issue and this late summer addition featured Dahlia ‘Aurora’s Kiss’ on the cover. Other highlights included:

• A gardening talent interview with Nell Jones, who was the propagation manager for the Chelsea Physic Garden.
• Tips for things to see on a long weekend in Paris.
• A plant profile on plants to fill your borders with late summer colour.
• Choices of the best plants from Fergus Garrett at Great Dixter.

Issue 214 – October 2014

Fast forward just over a year and Gardens Illustrated was now £4.50 an issue and the cover featured Tulipa ‘Colombine’, from a feature about Arne Maynard’s favourites. In this October issue, we featured:

• Ideas on how to celebrate apple day.
• A horticultural Who’s Who interview with designer Arne Maynard.
• A look around the gardens of Petra Pelz in Germany, filled with grasses.
• Nursery owner Derry Watkins chose ten of her favourite plants for October.

Issue 222 – June 2015

In this summer issue of Gardens Illustrated from 2015, we featured:

• A look around Highgrove with His Royal Highness King Charles III‘s (at the time Prince of Wales) favourite plants.
• The lost art of nature printing.
• A deep-dive into which plants make a meadow and a history of their evolution written by Steve Alton.
• The first in a new design ideas series with Sarah Price.

Issue 259 – April 2018

Skipping forwards a few years, Gardens Illustrated cost £4.99 in April 2018 and with Lucy Bellamy at the helm as Editor, highlights of the issue included:

• A feature on making your garden plastic free.
• A look at the tulip test beds of Noord-Holland.
• Jim Gardiner on the best yellow magnolias to plant.
• A celebration of 100 years of Rosemary Verey.

Issue 276 – August 2019

In this small gardens special from 2019, highlights included:

• A look at garden designs for small spaces, from London to Edinburgh.
• A plant profile on hardy fuchsias written by Matthew Reese.
• Nigel Dunnett’s biodiverse garden in the Peak District.
• Recommendations for the best garden fire pits.

Issue 282 – January 2020

In the first issue of a new decade, with no clue that lockdowns were just around the corner, our January 2020 issue featured Helleborus orientalis subsp. abchasicus on the cover. Other highlights included:

• 25 of the best gardens to visit by public transport.
• An interview with Marcus Chilton-Jones, the curator of RHS Garden Bridgewater on preparations for its opening.
• A plant profile on species hellebores.
• A back-page column from houseplant expert Jane Perrone on asparagus ferns.

Issue 287 – June 2020

In this dreamy issue of Gardens Illustrated, we featured:

• A plant profile on Verbena.
• Tom Stuart-Smith‘s redesign of an 18th century estate in Dorset.
• An interview with renowned plants person Rosy Hardy.
• James Basson’s sustainable garden design in the south of France.

Issue 290 – August 2020

In another small gardens special, the cover of this issue from August 2020 features the image that would later become the cover for the Gardens Illustrated podcast, Talking Gardens. Other highlights included:

• Planting ideas from Gravetye Manor.
• Outdoor shower ideas.
• Keith Wiley’s picks for the best plants for August.
• An interview with Arit Anderson.

Issue 305 – October 2021

In October 2021, with Sorrel Everton as Acting Editor, the magazine featured:

• Adam Shepherd’s striking plant spheres.
• An interview with Lynne Marcus, chair of the Society of Garden Designers.
• A plant profile on evergreen ferns.
• Jimi Blake’s choices of plants for October.

Issue 314 – Summer 2022

In this summer special of Gardens Illustrated, with current Editor Stephanie Mahon on the team, we featured this sweeping Italian garden, alongside:

• 14 designer getaways.
• An interview with head gardener Harry Hoblyn.
• An eco-friendly home on the edge of the New Forest with a garden designed by Helen Elks-Smith.
• A tour around the garden of Chris and Toby Marchant.

Do you have a favourite cover of Gardens Illustrated? Let us know on socials by using the hashtag #GI30.

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