Stanley Harland died in 1998, passing the garden on to his son Nigel, who valiantly continues its upkeep. Managing a garden on this scale cannot be easy, especially on a budget. The maintenance regime appears to be one of managed decline, with the focus on clearance and access rather than new planting. This is a pity as there must be many unmarked hybrids in the garden that are worthy of identification and propagation. When querying for the first time, authors should submit relevant writing samples, and briefly describe their personal experience with the subject matter they are proposing to cover. We look for writers who have some gardening experience or training, but who also have an ability to write in a strong journalistic style, complete with lively quotes from interviews or written sources. While ideas for articles are evaluated separately from photographs or artwork, it is helpful to the evaluation process for submissions to include information on possible sources for photographs or illustrations.

All articles with orange titles are open to the public to read.* Features in this Issue Gardening for Birds by Jo Ann Abell On a previous visit a tree-sized Embothrium coccineum, the fabulous Chilean fire bush, grew in the centre of the garden’s largest glade. Sadly this has now fallen, leaving behind the clump of wisteria-covered azaleas that grew in its shade. I hope The American Garden does not go the way of other gardens from this era that have found themselves without sufficient funds; swamped by sycamores and brambles, waiting for rescue. East Kent could benefit from a garden of this kind if only it had the means to smarten up its act and resume the building of a strong plant collection. In the meantime the experience of a visit to The American Garden, parking in a neighbouring orchard and plunging into the gloaming of The Dell, is like entering Jurassic Park. Your senses alive, you’ll discover many things, but there won’t be a tightly clipped bush in sight.

Creating a living tapestry of low-growing native plants provides a healthy habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. All the Colors of a Green Space by Florence Nishida Keith P. Tomlinson is the new director of the AHS, the AHS to partner with New Directions in the American Landscape in webinar series, how you can help the AHS while shopping online this holiday season, and more. Insect Insights

Homegrown Harvest. In this department we are looking for authoritative information on growing edible plants delivered in a personal, reassuring voice. Each issue focuses on a single crop, such as carrots, blueberries, or parsley. Runs 900-1,000 words. Not a member of AHS? JOIN US to read the entire issue online, and also receive 6 printed issues a year. Out of print since 1856, The American Gardener is perhaps the first classic work of American gardening literature. In it, William Cobbett, Victorian England’s greatest and most gifted journalist, draws upon his experiences during a two-year exile on a Long Island, New York, farm to lay out the rudiments of gardening for American farmers and, ultimately, to tailor principles developed in wet, drippy, weed-prone British gardens to their fine, sun-drenched counterparts in America. Full of practical knowledge memorably imparted with Cobbett’s gift for the indelible phrase, The American Gardener offers advice still useful today on all aspects of gardening, with special attention to those plants successful in the New World, including the artichoke (“indeed, a thistle upon a gigantic scale”) and the increasingly ubiquitous potato. Rediscovered 180 years after its composition, The American Gardener is evidence of a great mind and pen at work in the earliest days of American gardens.All articles with orange titles are open to the public to read.* Features in this Issue Wildlife-Friendly Groundcovers by Amy Ellsworth Conservationist Danae Wolfe discusses the importance of moths in the ecosystem. Gifts for Gardeners Free admission and other discounts at more than 345 public gardens and arboreta across North America via the AHS Reciprocal Admissions Program (RAP) In many residential areas governed by community associations, cookie-cutter landscapes are the norm, which limits the role of gardening’s role as a source of individual and cultural expression. Highlights from our Departments News from the AHS Geared toward the environmentally caring gardener, it’s a must-read for serious gardenistas.”— Nancy Szerlag, The Detroit News

Gardens designed to attract birds are not only more interesting, they are more ecologically sound. A Taste of the Tropics This part of The Garden of England has been mercilessly bisected by both the M20 and the HS1 train line on which Eurostar runs. Many years ago, as a Landscape Architect, the firm at which I worked acted for many of the landowners in this part of England who wished to keep their estates intact. Most, including Sandling Park, failed in their appeals. Both routes narrowly miss The American Garden, but the roar of traffic can still be heard.Once you get past the common name, the tiny, jewellike flowers of these shade-loving herbaceous perennials will enchant you. Beautiful Barriers by Viveka Neveln Save 30% on gardening books from Princeton University Press, including The Gardener’s Botanical and several books focused on pollinator gardening. Primped and polished gardens are all very well (we’ll be seeing a lot of them at Chelsea in a few days’ time) but for those of us who work and can’t afford help they can be a little intimidating. Small imperfections are natural and larger ones excusable. They render a garden approachable and understandable, revealing something about the way it works and the gardener that tends it. Flaws also lend a garden part of its atmosphere: glorious disarray is so much more evocative than clinical maintenance. The only gardens I never warm to belong to those stately homes, suburban villas and monotonous bungalows possessed of velvet-pile lawns, gappy planting and bushes so tightly pruned that they appear to have given up on life. This membership level provides you with all the benefits listed above plus up to 4 membership cards

Exemplifying glorious disarray, if not wild abandon, is a little known valley in South East Kent known as The American Garden. You won’t find it in any guide book, and without a decent map you may not locate it at all. However, during the month of May you’ll find The American Garden open each weekend from 2-5.30pm. I’d urge you to make the detour and immerse yourself in its dank, dark, yet exuberant depths. The reasonably sized garden I moved to amidst the Covid interruption to our lives, is also glorious – surrounded by trees, full of pollinator attracting shrubs, and boasting a number of Rhodies, Azalea and Hydrangeas that seem to thrive. Having come to gardening so late in my years, I appreciate every dirty finger nailed moment I spend in it.Plant in the Spotlight. An in-depth profile of a single plant species or cultivar, including a personal perspective on why it’s a favored plant. Runs 600 words. It is little known, receives no subsidy, isn’t RHS or anything like that – but is the MOST GLORIOUS RHODODENDRON and AZALEA spot I have ever seen, for myself. TOTALLY ‘UNSPOILED’ one hardly has time to draw breath, as one moves through this heavenly valley of unsurpassed floral beauty! It “beggars belief’ that around each corner as you walk through this garden, you discover yet another “breathtaking” display of glorious, colourful, mind blowing blooms ! The whole aura here “pervades your senses”– transcending anything worldly, leaving you suspended in nature and the “wonder” of it! I guess the true lovers of this garden experience “covet” their own discovery of it – to such an extent, that we don’t seek to publicise its’ existence, selfishly hoping it will retain its’‘magic’ and never “be discovered” by commercialism. Keep it a secret 😷 or allow word-of-mouth to suffice. Add to the beauty of your landscape by dividing your own plants to create an impact with masses of identical offspring. In Defense of the Freedom to Garden by Marianne Willburn Feature articles run 1,500 to 2,500 words, depending on subject and assignment. Freelance submissions are also encouraged for the following departments: The LA Green Grounds Teaching Garden brings the world together in South Los Angeles. Captivating Toad Lilies by Bill Johnson