Magazine

The June issue of Gardens Illustrated looks at tranquil rural gardens to escape the modern world

• The June issue of Gardens Illustrated features seven beautifully different spaces. They include the exquisite white garden of Chrissie Rucker, founder of The White Company and a large, organically-certified Gloucestershire garden masterminded by designers Urquhart & Hunt.
• We visit an experimental sand garden in Sweden created by nurseryman Peter Korn and a bold courtyard garden in the south of France by James Basson.
• An ebulliently planted garden in East Sussex makes the most of its varied growing conditions, while in a garden in Essex, a lawn and parking space have been replaced with naturalistic planting. And in a small Dutch suburban garden, a simple palette of plants creates a cohesive scheme.
• We also celebrate edible plants – three experts recommend their favourite edimentals (plants that are both beautiful and edible) and we feature delicious summer recipes using edible flowers.
• And for the start of summer we take a fresh look at geums, gaining in popularity, and garden stalwarts, lilacs.
• In the second of his myth-busting series, Ken Thompson examines whether rockdust, biochar and mycorrhizas are really worth using, and columnist Alice Vincent gives the lowdown on choosing a garden studio.