Tom Stuart-Smith

It was a great honour to host Gardeners’ Question Time at the Serge Hill Project, broadcast this afternoon on @bbcradio4 , as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. Especially as this is the last episode with the great Matt Biggs VMH, who gave a very moving account of what gardening has meant to him while living with cancer.   It’s been an inspiration to see his energy and determination in the face of this terrible illness, and the way he has galvanised so many of us to help create the new garden at Mount Vernon - to be named the Matthew Biggs Sanctuary Garden in his honour. It’s brilliant that @sergehillproject , @tomstuartsmithstudio and @sunnysiderural have all been able to contribute to this wonderful project, designed by Millie Souter, Head Gardener of the Plant Library, creating a place of beauty around the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre.    If you feel able to support this, please see the link in my bio or go to: /campaign/mountvernongardenproject

For those very few who don’t already know Perch Hill in East Sussex, it is the wonderful garden of Sarah Raven, the horticulturist and writer known for her brilliance in all things cut flowers, gardening, and cooking. She also hosts the podcast ‘Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange with Sarah Raven’, and I was delighted to join her for the latest episode, released yesterday. I’m also much looking forward to joining her and Adam Nicolson on Thursday 18th June for a special evening at Perch Hill that will bring together beautiful gardens, food, and conversation. We’ll begin with a walk through the garden, before I give a talk on some of my favourite projects, including this years’ garden for Tate Britain at Chelsea. Afterwards, there will be drinks on the lawn followed by a homegrown seasonal dinner. There will also be time for questions and for wandering the gardens at dusk, just a few days before the summer solstice. I can’t wait!  Thursday 18th June, 5pm–10pm Perch Hill Farm, East Sussex  For more information, there’s a link in my bio or you can visit Sarah’s website: /products/demo-dinner-evening-tom-stuart-smith Photos: @jonathanbuckleyphotography

The plant library this morning. Bearded Iris getting under way. If you want to visit the best way is to become a member of the plant library which enables you to visit every week on a Friday and see how plants behave over the season. You can find out how to join on the SergeHill Project website. Every other day we are using the plant library for activities with local schools and other groups. Sometimes for education, research and often for quietly therapeutic time in a garden. @sergehillproject

A brilliant couple of days in the plant library lead by Dr Harry Watkins Director of the Botanic Garden at St Andrews University collecting plant samples and measuring in the plant library to establish key data like dry matter content and carbon for a shared database and publication. This is mixed with short talks and presentations. It’s a great way for gardeners and designers to meet, talk and learn a bit about plant growth strategies. thank you to such a great crowd. Two more similar events later this summer. The sun shone until about 10 minutes after everyone left @sergehillproject @standrewsbotanicgarden

Astonishing bee life on Malus transitoria - by contrast Malus hupehensis next door is like the takeaway with a history of food poisoning - quite quiet despite its beauty. Then bluebells at the peak and a vast Abutilon vitigolium Album in sister Kate’s garden at Serge Hill- Finally to bring us back to suburban reality, 6 bottles of unopened San Miguel discovered in a bag in a hedge - each bottle wrapped individually in a woollen sock - now decayed / - sell by date ( on the bottles that is) 2010 - the mind races. - It’s the wrapping that does it. Something very furtive went on here.

Paeonia x smoutii in the plant library. I’m a little disappointed to understand that this is its correct name. Along with others I thought it was P. X Smouthii. But this does a disservice to a Monsieur Smout, a Belgian pharmacist who first made the cross between P lactiflora and P tenuifolia. Rather like crossing a Labrador with a chihuahua. Anyway it’s a gorgeous gorgeous thing!

A miscellany from a beautiful week with a lot of sun. 1-2 Naturalised cowslips and pulsatilla and the spring garden @middletonlodge all done from seed about 7 years ago 3. @lucianogiubbileigardens beautiful planting @raby_castle where we met up with the brilliant @beckycrowley_ who is looking after the seriously impressive walled garden project there 4-5 Camassias and Tulip Honky Tonk both at home this weekend.

Primroses in the bull pen. All from a few I planted a long time ago. Slow gardening - or is it gardening at all ?

Another tulip moment - I know it’s a bit of a repeat but they are rather glorious

Delighted to be asked by @bookshop_org_uk to share a few of my favourite gardening books. It would be a bit remiss of me not to mention Tom Stuart-Smith: Drawn from the Land, recently released in a new compact edition. It features twenty-four of my projects from around the world, with words by garden writer Tim Richardson. So, here’s my selection of books I hope anyone interested in gardens will enjoy… The Well Gardened Mind – Sue Stuart-Smith My wife is a psychiatrist, psychotherapist and author of this wonderful book published in April 2020. It investigates the magic that many gardeners have known for years – working with nature can radically transform our health and wellbeing. It is also so much more than this. A must read! Gardens – Robert Pogue Harrison One of the most fascinating books written about gardening – as a metaphor for a healthy society. The Education of a Gardener – Russell Page Still a classic. Diary of a Keen Gardener – Mary Keen So sharp and so well put. The Landscape of Man – Geoffrey Jellicoe & Susan Jellicoe Tim Richardson has just remade this classic - I don’t have my copy yet but can’t wait. Gardens That Can Save the World – Lottie Delamain Such an impressive collection of projects outlined in this very attractive book. What Makes a Garden – Jinny Blom My old mucker does do a fine book. Compost – Charles Dowding Had to include something by top guru. A Year of Cut Flowers – Sarah Raven Sarah is a total inspiration, and I would trust her advice 100% - my copy didn’t arrive in time to make the photo. Wonderlands – Clare Coulson I’m including this beautiful book partly because I love Eva Nemeth’s gorgeous photos – including those of our garden here at Serge Hill. All of these books are available through my Bookshop.org shop, where every purchase supports independent bookshops. Link in bio.

Tulips in the courtyard at the barn. A big mix up!

Are you available Friday 1 and Saturday 2 May 2026 (9:30am–3:30pm both days) and interested in contributing to an ambitious plant research project? We are offering 30 places on a two-day data collection event at the Plant Library at Serge Hill – a unique living collection of over 2,000 plant taxa. We are collaborating with Dr. Harry Watkins from St. Andrews Botanic Gardens with an exciting and ambitious initiative to develop a new digital resource for gardeners, designers and growers. As climate change reshapes planting conditions, this project aims to build a knowledge base that better captures how plants perform, adapt and contribute to biodiversity. More information and tickets can be found in the link in the bio.