Today, we are excited to open this column to all R/G leaders, not only subscribers, but also to share the answers to our own Quick Take from Kendra Wilson.
Kendra is one of the OG Gardenista Crews. She has been contributing to the site since its launch in 2012. She works for British Vogue (“My First Writing Job”), contributed to the Guardian gardening blog and created her own “secret blog” about estate gardening in Northamptonshire, England (the era of blogging), her latest book. Bookstores October 14th, now available for pre-order, the latest addition to the R/G collection.
I couldn’t dream of a better author and collaborator for this book. Kendra, born in Fairfield, Connecticut, but moved to the UK as a child (“I am an American by nature, despite my English accent”), is passionate about the gardens and the people who bring them back to life, and expresses their opinions in the best possible way. Read on to learn about her flashy things (including newcomers and now essential gardening gloves), what she got her goats and why “gardening for nature is not trending.”
Photo courtesy of Kendra Wilson.
Your First Garden Memories:
petunia. I am constantly exploring barefoot the forests and meadows around our home in Weston, Connecticut. Sounds: Cervical, Frog, Blue Jays.
Garden-related books that you will come back to over and over:
I return to these idiosyncratic voices: Russell Page (Garden education), Christopher Lloyd (often gardeners), and Vita Sackville West’s column in the Observer newspaper (“Your Garden”). And less relentless: Marjorie Fish (we made a garden), Eleanor Perenni (green thinking), Derek German (Derek German’s garden). His description of photographer Howard Thule is one of his ages.
Instagram accounts that inspire you:
When @marcfinds, @idleriver, @arthurparkinson is troubled by something. (Find Arthur’s own quick take here.)
Describe your garden aesthetic in three words.
It’s rich, luxurious and lively.
Plants that will disappoint you:
Crab apple flowers, Lily Leger, traditional roses, oriental poppies, and very full and very fragrant lilac.
Plants you would like to run in other ways:
Hyacinths – After finishing flowering indoors, there is no reason to plant them in the garden.
