Gardens Illustrated Magazine

It isn't all that long ago that a garden magazine would fill its autumn issue with advice on tidying up the garden for winter, but we now embrace the highlights of the season, appreciating the beauty in the senescence of plants and the lasting interest from many perennials and grasses. This issue, we are indulging fully in autumn with several seasonal gardens, including our cover star, a small city plot that has been transformed into a mini woodland glade, bright with fiery foliage (page 82); and a roof garden in Utrecht (page 46) where designer Erik Funneman has used organically shaped beds and prairie-style planting to act as a foil against the starkness of the city skyline, giving the garden an immersive appeal lasting well into winter. Other elements come to…

Adrian Bloom Adrian argues it's time to think again about Cortaderia selloana, page 70. “Is pampas grass coming back into fashion? Probably not, but it sounds terribly controversial doesn't it?” Mat Reese Mat visits Surreal Succulents in Cornwall, page 86. “Succulents make wonderful exotic additions to any garden. They're particularly suitable for pot culture, and perfectly hardy given good drainage.” Jason Ingram Jason photographs therapeutic gardener Ozichi Brewster, page 68. “Meeting Ozichi was such an enjoyable experience. She was so full of energy and enthusiasm. It really was therapeutic.” CONTRIBUTING EDITORS James Basson James lives in the South of France where he runs Scape Design, a practice 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…

Caught on camera Over the past 30 years, Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire has become well known among garden lovers thanks to its annual International Garden Festival. In winter, the estate's Centre for Arts and Nature also hosts an annual photography exhibition, Chaumont-Photo-sur-Loire, which brings together some of the world's best nature photographers. This year's exhibition includes striking black-and-white photographs of trees by English photographer Michael Kenna, set alongside works by French photographers Éric Bourret, Flore and Denis Brihat, whose close-up observations of flowers and vegetables, such as the sliced artichoke heart above, have an almost abstract quality. Until 26 February 2023, admission €14. domaine-chaumont.fr ARTICHAUT COUPE, 1963 BY DENIS BRIHAT…

PLANT NOW November is the perfect month to plant a fruit tree, and this new plum, Prunus domestica ‘Malling Elizabeth’, would make a sweet tribute to the late Queen. Released in the summer to mark The Queen's Platinum Jubilee, ‘Malling Elizabeth’ is a heavy cropping plum that produces fruits with a juicy yellow flesh in July. Bareroot plants cost £31 from frankpmatthews.com Find more plants named for Elizabeth II at gardensillustrated.com/elizabethplants Seeing the light As Christmas creeps closer, it's time once again to head out into some of the UK's best gardens and gaze at glowing lights. From the chance to explore illuminated exotic plants among the famous biomes of the Eden Project in Cornwall (above) to a frostier trail in Edinburgh, where the Royal Botanic Garden will be illuminated with more than a…

1 Into the Woods Head to Kudhva, the off-grid hideout in Cornwall, for a Bonfire Night party with SSAW Collective, a community of chefs, florists and growers. The afternoon and evening event will include talks and dinner cooked over an open fire. 5 November, 4.30pm-12am. From £15. Kudhva, Sanding Road, Trebarwith Strand, Tintagel, Cornwall PL34 0HH. ssawcollective.com 2 Wilding Rural Enfield Find out more about rewilding from this online talk by Ian Russell, principal engineer at Enfield Council's Watercourse Team, which will explain how a combination of natural flood management and rewilding measures is helping to improve wildlife habitats in the former royal forest of Enfield Chase. 7 November, 6pm-7pm. £5. londongardenstrust.org 3 Handmade in Britain Browse more than 100 UK-based designers and artists, including Alison Stockmarr's book prints (right), as the Handmade in Britain…

The concept of artists’ gardens can be interpreted in many ways, especially as the creation of all gardens can be considered an art form. For this tour, we're homing in on gardens that have been owned or created by many different artists, examining how these gardens play a role in the artist's work. We'll visit Monk's House, where Virginia Woolf penned many of her novels in the garden writing lodge, and nearby Charleston, the country home of her painter sister Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, where the Bloomsbury Group gathered and found inspiration in its beautiful gardens. We also visit the gardens of contemporary artists, including Balmoral Cottage, where we'll discover how Charlotte Molesworth's topiary work has influenced her paintings; Fairlight End with its wildflower meadows that provide Robin Hutt…