Pleasure Garden – Issue 5

Pleasure Garden Issue 5 (Au Naturel) is available now at LOREM (not Ipsum). This issue sees us go Au Naturel – uncovering a theme that has had shifting boundaries and conflicting definitions. Our Icon William Robinson was a man who sought to imagine a new, more ‘natural’ style of gardening. Jo Metson Scott photographs his legacy at Gravetye with words by Richard Bisgrove. Jonny Bruce takes us on a journey to three subversive gardens that liberated his thinking of what a garden could be. We revisit Howards Sooley’s photographs of Derek Jarman and Dungeness and he shares memories of this friend Mourned by the Wind.

Concepts of beauty are bought under the spotlight with Against Nature by Bethan Cole, photographed by Drew Vickers, and A Vision of Beauty by Sarah Jane Downing. We also take a look at The Bush with artist Ruth van Beek and explore the idea of being naked in At One with Nature. The vegetable gardens of chef Alain Passard are documented over a year by Alexandre Guirkinger – with an interview by Paul Henry-Bizon and we explore the combination of Food and Flowers with Simone Gooch, photographed by Joaquin Laguinge.

Naturally we consider gender and sexuality, so often defined by people on behalf of others. Here Pleasure Garden commissioned artist Linder Sterling to explore film stills from the old porn studio at Flamingo Estate in Los Angeles and we talk to the designer Erdem Moralıoğlu about fashion and self-expression.

This issue is very much a celebration of our natural selves.

Taking inspiration from the pleasure gardens of 18th century London the Pleasure Garden magazine engages its public with an array of attractions – ranging from the past to the present, the sedate to the salacious. Here we step away from the practicalities of the garden instead placing it within a wider cultural context. The pleasure garden was always a place to escape to – a fantasy in a garden, filled with art, music, fashion, society and sex. It is this mix that we transport to the printed pages of Pleasure Garden magazine. The Garden Edit takes a modern approach to gardening and plants. Adopting a unique point of view that merges functionality, design and craftsmanship – we bring together a curated selection of garden-related products from internationally recognised and emerging designers. Working with photographers and writers we also document the garden through a contemporary lens, showcasing interesting figures and spaces within the botanical world.

Details: Pleasure Garden – Issue 5

210 pages, 36 x 28 cm, Softcover, 1.5 kg