TV Reviews : Audrey Hepburn Takes Tour of Great Gardens
It won’t grab you like “60 Minutes” or even Ken Burns’ “The Civil War,” but “Gardens of the World With Audrey Hepburn” is a mesmerizing feast for the eyes. It airs tonight, at 8 on KCET Channel 28 and at 10 on Channel 15.
Hepburn proves the perfect host for this tour of some of the world’s most notable gardens, never intrusive, always appreciative of the natural and man-made beauty around her.
The hourlong special distills the highlights of an eight-part series planned for the fall. It traces the evolution of the garden from ancient Egyptian, Persian, Greek and Roman days through Japanese, Renaissance and English gardens. The beautifully shot journey leads us from the formal parterred paths of the Italian Renaissance and 17th-Century France to the “wild garden in a formal setting” that characterizes Hidcote Manor in the English Cotswolds.
The only sour note is a narrative voice-over that is jarring alongside Hepburn’s refined presence. But that is a minor quibble.
Interviews with the well-regarded garden writers Penelope Hobhouse and Graham Stuart Thomas give weight to this special.
They also contributed to the authoritative, handsome book “Gardens of the World: The Art & Practice of Gardening” (Macmillan: $39.95) designed to complement the eight-part series.
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