Lady Salisbury has been a gardener since, as a child in the 1930s, she cultivated tiny patches of her parents' gardens in Ireland and the West of England. Later, as chatelaine first of Cranborne Manor and then of Hatfield House, she revived two of the great historic gardens of England. And then there are the gardens that, as a professional garden designer, she has created for others, notably for the Prince of Wales at Highgrove and for the Museum of Garden History and Cosby Hall in London. Renowned for her depth of scholarship and her design skill, she has also led the way as a pioneer of organic gardening ('when I began, in 1948, I was written off as a complete crank').
From 1971 until 2004 she lived and worked at Hatfield House, where she oversaw the restoration of the garden. Now in her eighties, she not only continues to tend her garden in Provence, she is also making a roof garden ('the first I've ever done') for her house in Chelsea, and designing gardens for clients in England, Ireland, Italy and the United States.
Sue Snell is a leading documentary and horticultural photographer and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. She has been involved in many projects and exhibitions including work with the Royal Opera House, the Royal Horticultural Society, the Chelsea Physic Garden, the Natural History Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.