Pleased to see my portrait of Beth Chatto used on the cover of her biography, written by Catherine Horwood. The book will be launched in September 2019 at The Garden Museum, but is available to order in advance on Amazon, or from the publisher, Pimpernel. (Sorry for being old fashioned, but the term ‘to pre-order’ is just wrong!).
An edit of recent photographs posted on Instagram in 2018.
Very sad to hear that Beth Chatto, nurserywoman, author and one of the most influential horticulturists of recent times, has died, aged 94. Her belief in natural planting, working with nature in local environments has been of great significance to modern gardening. I was lucky enough to photograph her a few times in her garden in Essex, and these portraits were taken in 2008. Each meeting started with a cup of tea, and her quiet nature and small stature always hid her great significance in the gardening world. From the series 43 Gardeners Hands, which was part of the International […]
During the autumn of 2010 I started photographing a few people I knew for a personal project, initially inspired by a Land Girls poster from WW2. Like the Gardeners’ Hands project from a couple of years ago, it gathered momentum, slowly at first, but by word of mouth it has grown from the original six portraits taken last year, to a surprising 30 portraits. And I only seem to have scratched the surface! Not a literal interpretation of the original poster, the connection with everyone is that they grow edible plants or plants for cropping in some form – whether in a […]
This week I had the pleasure of photographing one of Britain’s best known and most respected gardeners, Beth Chatto. At the age 87, most people would be taking it easy, but not Mrs Chatto. She spent two hours being interviewed and photographed, before carrying out what is apparently normal routine in her garden – putting in new plants and doing general maintenance! I photographed her once before, for my ‘Gardeners’ Hands’ project. On that occasion, I was in a queue behind a Japanese film crew, who were working with her before my appointment. Keeping busy must be her secret! The […]