Gardens from the Air

"The reason I like this book is because it is highly original. As it is from the air, you can actually see the whole design of the garden. I was very amused to see somebody planted a wood in the shape of a foot – that sort of thing. You really have a completely different view of the garden. You see the design, as opposed to being in the garden and seeing it from that perspective. I find that quite interesting, given that we always think of gardens as though we are a bird above the garden. So it was interesting and amusing to see all the photos in the book. Get the weekly Five Books newsletter With me, I have always liked things like long grass and natural wild flowers. Maybe it is because my first approach to gardening was at home in Italy, where we had the most fantastic wild flowers. I don’t like lawns so if I can let the grass grow I will do. And I like the contrast between clipped lawn and long grass. This type of thing has become a sort of fashion, but it has been going on for quite a long time. Miriam Rothschild was the first person who showed a wildflower garden at the Chelsea Flower Show, which was a fantastic display, and that was a very long time ago."