Charles Jencks, American-born landscape architect and historian, has developed a garden inspired by questions of modern science and issues concerning the laws of nature. The themes explored include DNA, the senses, and the concepts of space and time, represented by the extensive and impressive manipulation of the landscape and siting of individual sculptures and forms. The entire 30 acre site itself is a deliberate, considered, sculpture demonstrarting mans' interaction with the environment.

Situated at Portrack House in Dumfries and Galloway the garden was established by Charles Jencks and his late wife Maggie Keswick, the founder of the Maggie's cancer caring centres, and it has continued to grow and develop since her death in 1995.

That the garden has a distinct concept harks back to an earlier era when gardens were built to represent themes and ideas, rather than what is now generally considered to be their purpose - as a horticultural display. Situated on Charles Jencks' private estate, and described as probably the most important modern garden in Europe, it is only open to the public on one day a year.

Charles Jencks is an internationally acclaimed landscape architect whose work, writings and lectures have shaped elements of current artistic thought, most notably with his discussions on our acceptance of post-modenism.

Link to a BBC radio interview from 2003.
Link to Google Books - The Garden of Cosmic Speculation