The gardening world is like that pop culture phenomenon, “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.” You know the one, where you can link any actor to Kevin Bacon in six steps or less. Take any two gardeners worldwide and you can probably find some way to link them. This scenario plays out for me all the time. My gardening neighbor is active in her local extension office, where a soil scientist from a local university is a consultant, and that professor gave a webinar on sustainable gardening, where an internationally known native plant botanist was also a panelist. That was only four degrees from that famous botanist back to me. I bring this up because “Six Degrees of Gardening” is how I came to be co-hosting an incredible garden tour in England this upcoming May.
It all started when a former Fine Gardening editor wrote a feature article on a Midwestern garden designed by Adam Woodruff in 2015. The beauty of that garden stuck with me for several years, and in 2020 I reached out to Adam and asked if he had any recent projects he wanted to share with FG. Turns out he did. In fact, he had moved to the East Coast (just a short drive from Fine Gardening headquarters), where he had installed a lovely seaside matrix garden that was finally mature enough for me to visit. The cover story on that gorgeous space remains one of my favorites from the past 18 years. While I was visiting, Adam suggested I get in touch with well-known UK garden designer and friend, Annie Guilfoyle—insisting that there was some sort of collaboration to be had. Eventually, Annie and I got on the phone and chatted about all things gardening and the idea of teaming up for in-person and online events. We forged a partnership with Garden Masterclass (run by Annie and Noel Kingsbury) and created an online garden-design course together. That led to a live event this past summer, hosted by Chanticleer and FG, where Annie was a keynote speaker. And it was at dinner that night that we formulated a back-of-the-napkin idea for a special gardening tour in May of 2025.
In the months that have followed, Annie has put an incredible amount of time and effort into curating the most unique and fulfilling garden tour you can imagine. It has been nearly four years since that first conversation about a tour, and I’m very excited to share the experience with you, our loyal FG readers. I also feel so lucky that “Six Degrees of Gardening” exists—a big thank-you is owed to Adam Woodruff for the introduction to Annie Guilfoyle.
I hope to see you in England in a few months, where you will undoubtedly make your own Kevin Bacon connections to garden enthusiasts from an array of locations and backgrounds. Although, I don’t think that the star of Footloose himself will be joining us.
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| Danielle Sherry, Executive Editor |
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Learn more:
Annie’s introduction to garden design course:
https://finegardening.mykajabi.com/finding-your-garden-style
Check out the garden masterclass course:
https://courses.finegardening.com/garden-design-ideas
Use this code for 60% OFF for either of the above to courses—perhaps put in description of content spots: ANNIE60
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Ideal Tool for All Gardeners Use: Our heavy duty trenching shovel is designed by a professional gardening tool designer. Lifetime Durability: This heavy duty drain spade is made of high-quality stainless steel, it is very strong and durable, even if it is used for high-strength work, it will not bend. Ergonomic Wood Handle: The handle of this planting spade is made of ash hardwood harvested from FSC-certified forests and has an ergonomically streamlined design, making it very suitable for everyone’s hands. Multi-Use: This digging shovel is generally used for digging trenches, digging holes, transplanting, edging, moving compost, cutting thick turf and furrowing. The sharp blade allows you to cut, scoop, dig, lift and dice in hard soil.
A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife & Leather Sheath Combo
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MULTITASKING DUAL EDGES: a deep serrated edge and a tapered slicing edge ideal for tough or delicate cuts. DURABLE 6-inch stainless steel blade withstands 300 lbs of pressure. TWINE CUTTING NOTCH, DEPTH GAUGE MARKINGS & spear point – no need to switch tools when using this garden knife. LEATHER SHEATH: heavy duty, protective, clip on sheath to keep your knife convenient and secure. LIFETIME WARRANTY.
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Featuring gorgeous photography and advice for landscapers, Planting in a Post-Wild World by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West is dedicated to the idea of a new nature—a hybrid of both the wild and the cultivated—that can nourish in our cities and suburbs.
