Diary of an English Garden

From one of Australia's most revered landscape designers comes a deeply personal and evocative new book: a diary of discovery and creation in the heart of the English countryside.

For decades, Paul Bangay has looked to the great gardens of England as both touchstone and inspiration - their structure and grandeur shaping his own celebrated work. In this intimate new volume, he finally finds a cottage in the Cotswolds ready for bold reinvention. What follows is the story of a new beginning: reimagining boundaries and axes, planting hedges and perennials, experimenting with structure and softness, and discovering, season by season, what thrives, what falters and what surprises.


Written in diary form, the book captures the daily rhythms of building a garden from scratch. Bangay reflects on the differences between English and Australian light, soil and climate; the discipline of working within centuries-old traditions; and the joy of watching a place evolve. Alongside the garden transformation runs the renovation of the cottage itself and the gradual process of becoming part of village life.

Rich with observation, wit and practical insight, A Diary of an English Garden is a lyrical homage to England's gardening heritage. Beautifully illustrated and exquisitely designed, this is Paul Bangay at his most reflective and most personal: a master gardener returning to the source of his lifelong inspiration.

• Format: Hardback
• Pages: 352
• Imprint: Thames & Hudson Aust
• Supplier: Penguin Random House Distribution
• Subjects: Garden design & planning, Memoirs, Autobiography: general, Horticulture, Gardens (descriptions, history etc), Diaries, letters and journals, Cotswolds, Seasonal interest, country garden; cottage garden; English Garden; Cotswolds; Duntisbourne; roses; countryside; village garden; village life; stone cottage; Garth Cottage; pandemic garden; garden diary; seasons; Australian garden; Stonefields; seasonal gardening; intimate portrit; memoir; intimate memoir; never seen before; new garden; diary; personal; award-winning; Paul Bangay husband; Paul Bangay partner; Barry McNeill