Victoria Summerley (writer) and Hugo Rittson Thomas (photographer) had an original idea in 2015. They would write a coffee table book about gardens in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. The outcome was Secret Gardens of the Cotswolds and it was successful enough for them to venture a sequel this month.
The Secret Gardeners: Britain’s Creatives Reveal Their Private Sanctuaries is what it’s called. I wonder where they got the idea from? Might someone else have done something similar? Yes indeed, they are reviving an old brand created in 1980 by Rosemary Verey and Alvilde Lees-Milne (wife of JL-M) when they wrote The Englishwoman’s Garden in 1980. It worked for them and Chatto & Windus so they followed up with The New Englishwoman’s Garden in 1987.
An Amazon customer, M. L. Komornikon, writes this helpful review:
Here is a companion for Alvilde Lees-Milne’s and Rosemary Verey’s enormously successful The Englishwoman’s Garden, first published in 1980. Their new book is rich in the enthusiasm, intimacy and charm which endeared the first volume to so many readers. Twenty-eight gardens are described by their owners with affection, humor and a detailed knowledge of the plants and the history of each garden.
Each is both a reflection of the personality of the owner and an expression of the possibilities offered by site and conditions.
Alvilde Lees-Milne’s garden, although not large, proves the importance of form and formality. Joan Loraine has created a garden on the edge of ancient woodland on land sloping down to the sea. Sylvia McCosh, in the north is governed by plant hardiness and stamina. Some of the gardeners are plants women; others are more concerned with lay-out and design. Miriam Rothschild is no longer attracted by conventional gardening and flower filled fields edge nearer and nearer to her house. Some of the gardeners started from scratch; Anthea Gibson and Lavinia Cholmondeley took on established gardens which they cherish and develop. All are eager to share their knowledge and enthusiasm. The new Englishwoman’s Garden is illustrated throughout with over 150 specially commissioned photographs by leading garden photographers. It is a source of information and inspiration as well as a superb record of the spectacular diversity of English gardening today.
I wonder if Victoria’s secret gardeners are as interesting for a real gardener or if it is just an excuse to read about celebs? Incidentally Alvilde did not rest on her laurels. The Englishman’s Garden came out in 1985 and then she went inside and wrote The Englishwoman’s House and The Englishman’s Room, with photographs taken by Derry Moore. I have read The Englishman’s Room and recommend it highly.