WOODLAND GARDENING: LANDSCAPING WITH RHODODENDRONS, MAGNOLIAS & CAMELLIAS by Kenneth Cox

Glendoick Publishing, £40 ISBN 978-1527217874

An impressive, well-illustrated hardback that details the evolution of woodland gardening in the grand manner, and how to emulate it.

Kenneth Cox was born into a dynasty of woodland gardeners and plant-hunters. His grandfather, Euan Cox, made an impulsive decision to join Reginald Farrer on his fateful expedition to Burma, and was the last European to see the great plantsman alive. Cox’s family were therefore protagonists in the Golden Age of woodland gardening, when the flood of plant introductions from the Far East stimulated the creation of an extensive gardening style that could accommodate new woody treasures including rhododendrons, camellias and magnolias.

The most famous woodland gardens have been created over several generations on an epic scale, often by fabulously wealthy landowners. At Exbury, Lionel de Rothschild planted rhododendrons in clumps of 100 plants per variety. Although this level of grandeur may seem out of step with the way that most of us garden today, nevertheless it is important to have the story told. Ultimately, the movement that Woodland Gardening describes has had such a pervasive influence on horticulture that it will have left an imprint on even the most modest suburban garden.

Many of the gardens described in the book remain important resources today and the book is sure to stimulate plenty of fruitful garden visits.

The practical and design sections of the book, while generally directed towards large gardens, also bear relevance to anyone who gardens under trees on any scale. The book paints with a broad brush and covers such a vast topic that unfortunately there isn’t enough room in the book for a plant directory. Nevertheless, a good deal of incidental detail can be found if you are prepared to mine the index. A beautiful and unmissable book.