James Fenton has written extensively on the subject of gardening, including numerous articles for The Independent (London), and The Guardian. In 2001, several of his essays were collected in the book A Garden from a Hundred Packets of Seed.

James Fenton on A Garden from a Hundred Packets of Seed:

It seemed a simple and interesting idea for a newspaper column: what plants would you choose if starting a garden from scratch, given that you were only allowed to propagate them from seed? The resulting articles were collected and published in Britain in 2001, and in America a year later. The list is a mixture of the very obvious, such as nasturtiums and forget-me-nots, and rarer items such as Venus's Navelwort (one of the characteristic plants in my garden). The emphasis is on childish simplicity of approach, and - although this kind of gardening often has its setbacks - economy of outlay.

Selected Articles & Essays

'A Cottage Garden With Buffalo and Old Tyres.' The Independent (London) (23 May 1994): 14.

'An Eternal Spring With My Beloved Iris.' The Independent (London) (3 September 1994): 41.

'Yellow Arches Over a Lue.' The Independent (London) (10 September 1994): 42.

'Snobbery, Robbery and Buried Treasure.' The Independent (London) (2 January 1995): 10 [On snowdrops and galanthomania].

'Down a Tunnel and Up Among Glories.' The Independent (London) (9 January 1995): 14.

'Rare Collection That Inspires Passion.' The Independent (London) (24 April 1995): 13.

'Flowers and Their Colours.' The Guardian (27 January 2001): 14.

'Flowers That Hop Around.' The Guardian (10 February 2001): 12.

'Flowers for Cutting.' The Guardian (17 February 2001): 12.

'The Poppy Festival.' The Guardian (17 March 2001): 12.

'For the Tropical Look.' The Guardian (31 March 2001): 12.

'Putting the Finishing Touches to a Plot That Thickens.' The Guardian (7 April 2001): 12.

'After You'd Gone.' The Guardian (30 November 2002): 104 [We Made A Garden by Margery Fish].

'The Good Companions.' The Guardian (6 September 2003): 78 [On gardening books].

'The Essential Garden Library.' The Guardian (11 October 2003): 94.

'How Does Your Garden Grow?' The Guardian (5 June 2004): 24.

'Yellow Tulips.' New York Review of Books 52.13 (11 August 2005): 9 [Poem].

'Floral Tributes.' The Guardian (30 December 2006) [Review of Botanical Riches: Stories of Botanical Exploration by Richard Aitken].

'Tale of the Century.' The Guardian, 24 March 2007: 106 [On Hidcote, the wonderful Cotswold garden, turning 100 this year].

'Blooming Marvellous.' The Guardian, 1 September 2007 [Fenton helps his garden run wild].

'Flora International.' The Guardian, 9 February 2008 [Fenton on the origins of the flower trade].

'Come into the Garden', The Guardian, 5 April 2008 [Fenton on the unique exotic garden at Tresco].