Warne, R: Year in the Life of Beth Chatto's Gardens

Rachel Warne was the International Garden Photographer of the Year - Portfolio and RPS gold medal winner in 2010. Her work has appeared in magazines including Gardens Illustrated, Country Living, House and Garden, Home and Garden, Garden Life and The English Garden. This is her first book. She lives in London. Beth Chatto (born 27/06/1923) is a plantswomen, gardener and writer. Whilst having no formal horticultural training, she was inspired by her parents' enthusiastic gardening, her husband's lifelong study of natural associations of plants, and friendship with the great plantsman and artist Sir Cedric Morris. The Beth Chatto Gardens began at Elmstead Market, Essex in 1960. By applying the principles of ecological gardening, she transformed an overgrown area of wasteland into informal gardens that harmonise with the surrounding countryside. Complementing the gardens is a large plant nursery producing a wide range of unusual plants, which attracts thousands of visitors each year. She has won ten Gold Medals the Chelsea Flower Show and was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's Victoria Medal of Honour (1987), the Lawrence Memorial Medal and an honorary doctorate from Essex University. She is the author of many books including her classics The Dry Garden (1978) and The Damp Garden (revised 2004) as well as Beth Chatto's Gravel Garden (2000) and Beth Chatto's Woodland Garden (2002). An engaging exchange of letters with Christopher Lloyd, Dear Friend and Gardener, was published in 1998. In 2002 she was awarded the OBE for her services to horticulture. A keen advocate of organic gardening, she has lectured worldwide. She lives in Colchester in Essex. To visit the Beth Chatto Gardens website click here Fergus Garrett, Head Gardener at Great Dixter, first worked at the Beth Chatto Gardens as a student, over twenty years ago, and has remained a close friend of Beth's ever since.

If you can't make the trip to Beth Chatto's famous Essex garden, looking at A year in the Life of Beth Chatto's Gardens is the next best thing... Rachel Warne is someone to watch, with a feeling for how things grow and the way light falls. Add words by Fergus Garrett and you have a book that is useful as well as beautiful. BBC Gardens Illustrated Rachel Warne has trained her lens on the vivid foliage and flowers that dominate these beautiful spaces. Fergus Garrett's words are a perfect companion and really help to bring out the character of the images. Amateur Photographer For visual food for thought, A Year in the Life of Beth Chatto's Gardens is a sumptuous photographic guide to her Essex gardens. Guardian An excellent coffee-table book with stunning photographs of individual plants and views of the garden, this is the story of a garden's year told in pictures, and a tribute to an inspirational gardener... A visual treat for gardeners of all abilities. We Love This Book An important visual record of a garden that has become one of the most notable of the twentieth and twenty first centuries. House and Garden Once you have seen this book you will want to visit the gardens. Suffolk Norfolk Life The perfect gift for gardening friends. Four Shires Warne's close-up and macro flowers are gorgeous, and it will make you want to explore the world at a slower pace, appreciating colours and playful light Outdoor Photography If ever you needed proof that a garden can have year-round interest, this book provides it...We're given the chance to take a walk through a one-off garden, guaranteed to fill us with admiration for Chatto's achievements and renewed enthusiasm for our own plots Scotsman Magazine captured beautifully -- Emma Townshend Independent on Sunday The most desireable gardening book of the year and it repays long and careful attention, not just a quick browse Evening Standard This beautifully assembled tribute to one of England's most influencial and wonderful