Why 'Gardens Are For People' ?

56 years ago Thomas Church wrote a book called ‘Gardens Are For People’, the book has been hugely influential and it revolutionised the way we see gardens … well almost.

This book sowed the seeds of the idea that gardens are outside rooms. It was written at a time when home ownership was growing and row upon row of newly built houses were being put up all with smallish gardens and all in need of inspiration. There was spare money and spare time for many and not just the few.

Church wanted these gardens to suit people’s needs not some preconceived idea of what a ‘garden’ should be. His idea for designing outside spaces was logical, based on reason and those reasons come from the owner of the space…

“There are no mysterious ‘musts’, no set rules…. (Landscaping) is logical, down to earth and aimed at making your plot of ground produce exactly what you want and need from it.”

Wants and needs - these are the priority for Church. He saw that in an overcrowded world the garden becomes a haven. He saw that in small houses the extra room given by a garden would be a useful space for dining, entertaining and lounging. He saw that gardens can provide happiness in the way that other areas of the house cannot; with garden design,

“The direction in which to move will be determined by the desires of the people who expect to find happiness in their gardens.”

He also knew that gardening wasn’t what they wanted from their gardens,

 “People want their gardens to provide many pleasures, conveniences and comforts; none but the dyed-in-the-wool gardeners want them to be any work.”

 So this book, which has been so influential, should have dealt a death blow to the tyranny of ‘gardeners’ in outside spaces. But still they reign; still any mention of garden assumes gardening, whatever people actually want and need.

We are still waiting for the revolution that is the inevitable consequence of that logic Thomas Church saw so clearly 56 years ago.