The Great Gardens Of England

From the producers of the superb Growing Good Roses (VL-1/94), this nicely filmed tour of three of England's best-known gardens looks at Hidcote Manor, Mottisfont Abbey, and Sissinghurst Castle. Narrated and hosted by John Joss, the program opens with a look at a "garden of boundless variety, soberly controlled," as one writer called Major Lawrence Johnston's massive multi-garden estate at Hidcote Manor (if Disneyland had been made up of gardens, it might have looked something like this). Then it's off to the lovely rose gardens of Montisfont Abbey. The final third of the video looks at the colorful gardens at Sissinghurst Castle, the product of the minds of the famous literary couple of Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicholson, whose differences in personality found resolution, at least, in their beautiful gardens. Floral aficionados will delight in the incredible array of flowers displayed in the video, as well as the historical circumstances surrounding the creation of each of the gardens. For some, however, the writing--which leans toward the florid--will be a bit distracting (looking at the flowers I had a hard time seeing them "engulf," "smother," "overpower," and "overtake" one another, and a geranium described as "sassy," must have been covertly so--because I missed it). Still, the British are rightfully famous in at least two areas: a) bad pub food, and b) English gardens. I suspect that Anglophiles with a green thumb will be more than happy to enjoy the scenery on this attractively priced program. Recommended. (R. Pitman)