Gardeners: Encounters with Exceptional People [Hardcover]

These candid essays make good reading, not just from the voyeuristic point of view, but because they contain some genuinely interesting views, ideas and reflections of the art of garden-making from some of the country's leading plantsmen and women. (House & Garden )

A collection of interviews made over the years for Hortus. It's a book about people, not plants, about why they like gardens and plants, and what there is to be got out of garden-making. Some people you will know from outside horticulture - James Lovelock, Lucinda Lambton, Penelope Lively - and others are in the mainstream of gardening - Beth Chatto, Dan Pearson, Hugh Johnson and Roy Lancaster. Every one will charm you, and Ross paints their setting delightfully. (Times )

What is special about Diana Ross's approach to her subjects is her apparent diffidence and nervousness combined with razor-sharp observation, all couched in beautifully structured, episodic prose. (Daily Telegraph )

When I opened the package containging this slim volume and first flicked through the pages, my heart lifted as I recognised an increasingly rare species in today's over-crowded jungle of garden books: one that is to be read, not merely looked at. Further pleasure came on closer inspection, as I savoured a writing style firmly rooted in the distinguished tradition of English garden literature, far removed from the modern adapted television-speak. The book's true fascination lies in the discovery that, despite being a series of disconnected pieces, there is a strong thread running through: how people are touched, influenced, helped or inspired by gardens and gardening - in limitlessly varied ways. For many people, gardening is the leaven in their daily lives. It is restorative, relaxing and healing. It captivates great minds, whether analytical and scientific or creative and literary. It can be the glue for a marriage or a partneship. Such nuggets that the reader unearths in 'Gardeners' are their greatest reward, and will ensure the book warms many a Christmas stocking this year. (Country Life )

This quiet and thoughtful compendium will find many admirers. (Good Book Guide )

At the anthology end of the market there is justified favour for Diana Ross's 'Gardeners'. Those encountered run from Roy Lancaster to Lucinda Lambton, though the former is an exceptional gardener in a way that the latter would never claim to be. Others include the novelist Penelope Lively and the remarkable Tony Hall at Kew, both of whom make some fascinating observations about the gardening that they really love. (Robin Lane Fox Financial Times )

Her interviewees are exceptional, and Ross' writing is accessible and honest. It's not hero worship, but neither is it without huge admiration. She involves herself just enough in the stories she tells: an awkward moment of nervous babbling here; a quiet secret question to a wife or business partner there. In the style of old-fashioned journalism, she meets and spends the day with people in their gardens, gleaning information and telling us her observations. Satisfying and enlightening. (English Garden )

Excellent at getting to the essence of the person and nailing a particular passion or hobby horse, and her well-honed listening and guiding skills have enabled her to elicit personal thoughts and reflections from her subjects, so that you have a feeling of getting that little bit more. The odd curmudgeonly encounter is recorded amusingly and all is done with a light touch, crisp editing and astute comment. (Garden Design Journal )

[Diana Ross] reveals an ability to give her subjects life and personality while sometimes allowing her own to obtrude. She has the trick of teasing out an interesting insight, often expressed in a revealing aside. (Garden )

The author presents a rich assemblage of characters whose stories, anecdotes and advice will continue to amuse and inspire for many years to come. (BBC Gardens Illustrated )

Gardening writer Diana Ross visits twenty gardens and interviews their owners, including Roy Lancaster, Thomas Pakenham, Lady Salisbury, Beth Chatto and James Lovelock. She learns about their relationship with plants, who and what have inspired them, and how they approach the pleasures and challenges of garden making. Some are famous horticulturalists and designers, others have a more tangential relationship with gardening. The full list of gardeners is:

Roy Roberts Tony Hall Roy Lancaster

Tony Schilling Christian Lamb Thomas Pakenham

Hugh Johnson Geoffrey Dutton Lady Salisbury

Penelope Lively Beth Chatto Elizabeth Jane Howard

Donald Waterer Anthea Gibson Dan Pearson

Kim Wilkie Ronald Blythe Richard Mabey

James Lovelock Lucinda Lambton



'She brings a lovely sense of discovery to each of her victims'

Hugh Johnson