The Secret Gardeners (updated edition): Britain’s Creatives Reveal Their Private Sanctuaries

— —

Victoria Summerley Hugo Rittson Thomas

The Secret Gardeners (updated edition)

Britain’s Creatives Reveal Their Private Sanctuaries

Victoria Summerley, Hugo Rittson Thomas

$75

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

Frances Lincoln
07 October 2025

Photographs: collections; Gardens (descriptions, history etc); Garden design & planning; Specialised gardening methods

'The Secret Gardeners is a WONDERFUL book. Just beautiful. It will live, page open, on my coffee table.' Prue LeithThe Secret Gardeners features the private gardens of more than 25 well-known figures from across British culture, including actors, artists, writers, designers and aristocrats. Through intimate interviews and over 300 photographs, it offers a rare look at the outdoor spaces where creativity, comfort and personal expression take root.

This updated edition includes four new gardens, including those of Prue Leith, Dominic West and Catherine FitzGerald, Jeremy Clarkson and architect Ptolemy Dean. Returning names include Julian Fellowes, Cath Kidston, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jeremy Irons. Each chapter reveals what gardening means to its owner, how their space reflects their personality, and why these green sanctuaries matter so deeply.

Photographed by Hugo Rittson-Thomas and written with warmth and insight by Victoria Summerley, this is a book that celebrates the joy of gardening, the importance of private space and the stories that grow behind the garden walls.

The Secret Gardeners is the perfect book for anyone who loves gardens and wants to get inside the head of the people who create and care for them.

By: Victoria Summerley
By (photographer): Hugo Rittson Thomas
Imprint: Frances Lincoln
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 305mm, Width: 248mm, Spine: 26mm
Weight: 1.880kg
ISBN: 9781836004028
ISBN 10: 1836004028
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 07 October 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Victoria Summerley is an award-winning national newspaper journalist who specialises in writing about gardens and gardening. Former executive editor of The Independent, in 2010 she won the prestigious Garden Media Guild Journalist of the Year award, and she writes an award-winning blog. HUGO RITTSON THOMAS is one of the UK's leading portrait photographers. He started his career in the art world, studying at Central St.Martin's and Goldsmiths University of London, and took part in the landmark exhibition Temple of Diana alongside Tracey Emin at The Blue Gallery in 1999. Hugo lives and has a studio in London.