An Englishman's garden in America - James Raimes

James Raimes, born in York, now gardens on nine acres in upstate New York. Intrigued by the nature of gardening, and by the differences in gardening practice in the two countries, he finds himself obsessed with such questions as why gardeners keep moving plants around, what the names of the lawn grasses are and how can one impose order in a garden and at the same time make it look natural. What, in fact, defines a garden?



'Gardening for me is always looking and learning. It's bringing memories of England, where I grew up, to plans for the future. It's seeing a fawn not as Bambi but as the enemy, seeing Picasso and Braque in a winter landscape and Dylan Thomas in the colours of summer. It's sitting at a desk with a drink in the evening, making lists. It's meditating on the effect of time on place.'