Month: November 2012
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Prison Landscapes
I know about real gardens in prisons, but it was only when I was browsing in a second-hand art book shop in London that I found out about the scenes of gardens and natural spaces that are painted in prisons throughout America for prisoners – often with their families – to be photographed against. The…
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Dungeness – but is it a garden?
I didn’t have any hesitation in putting Dungeness on my list of Kent gardens to visit, although when I walked around I began wondering whether this was because of my love of Derek Jarman’s garden. Because apart from certain notable exceptions, I think that the good folk of Dungeness have more on their minds than…
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St John’s Jerusalem, Sutton-at-Hone
No wonder Sir Stephen Tallents and his wife loved St John’s Jerusalem so much they gave it to the National Trust, it is a real sanctuary of peace and loveliness. Walking round, it is hard not to feel its history as home to the Knights Hospitallers of the Order of St John of Jerusalem since…
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The Franciscan Gardens, Canterbury
It’s always surprising to me to find these ‘hidden’ gardens right in the middle of the city, and the gardens behind Franciscan Friary off the High Street, and behind these gates is just one such gem… To be honest, when I visited – last February – there wasn’t much to see (certainly compared with when…