Life in colour

I love water. I started the year talking about it - and now the longest day is here in the Northern hemisphere, along with a heatwave - it felt like a good time to dive back in.

Water is essential in any garden; to grow things, to support wildlife, and for beauty. I’ve written a couple of articles about this over the last few years - you’ll find them in the ‘news’ section below. It’s an ever-pressing topic and the more we can steady the flow, capture rainfall, and so forth- the better.

Right now I’m having a great time dreaming up water-based delights for clients, but for one in particular. This month’s project spot light is on our Chilterns project, where we’re working around a beautiful chalk stream, and exploring ways to extend this sense of flow and aquatic abundance to the rest of the garden.

And once again at home, looking around for something to share with you, I’m spoilt for choice, with plants growing at an extraordinary rate. To paraphrase the late David Hockney; who’s enjoyment of plants, nature, light and water will forever be a source of inspiration: life really is in full colour. And please indulge me, I had to include one of his wonderful, vibrant, life-affirming works in this month’s newsletter - scroll to the end to see.

Thanks for reading and see you in July, which will be the last newsletter of the summer as I’m planning a brief hiatus in August to fill my cup: before the excitement of the new school year begins.

But we’re miles off that so I’ll say ta-ra for now. And happy summer solstice!

Tabi x

BEHIND THE SCENES AT OUR CHILTERNS PROJECT

LET IT FLOW

An illustration of the summer house, pergola and sunken fire-pit that sit within the bend of the chalk stream.

In a secluded spot right at the end of this garden, you’ll find a glittering chalk stream surrounded by irises and weeping willows (salix babylonica). We’ll add resting places (above), primed for long afternoons and evenings next to the stream.

Right on the edge of the Chilterns, it’s a place rich with wildflowers and rare habitats that support no end of beautiful butterflies. So we are developing a design based around these ethereal creatures. We’ll trace their wings to find the outlines of meandering paths, and plant local and introduced plants to draw them to the garden.

In the middle of the garden, plans are afoot for a productive garden that works especially hard. It will be an area for water play in the summer, with rainwater harvested for plants and for fun. We’ll create reflective pools, guide the water through water butts and shallow rills. This place - designed to delight humans of all ages - will connect to a wider area of meadow planting so small children can run in and out of sight.

The chalk stream, ripe for new planting and enticing places to sit

I’ve been visiting my clients there monthly since last September. Observing the plants that are already at home there, seeing how the light changes, and slowly evolving plans accordingly

It is a truly wonderful place already. The house is part Tudor, part Georgian, part Victorian, and there is a listed barn in the garden. But the landscape lacks a sense of cohesion, and - crucially - good places to sit.

The idea is to divide the garden into distinct areas, then connect those areas with repeating patterns and paths that ebb and flow, taking you past water in it’s various forms. An antique troughs under a flint wall, a rain garden and rill, then onto the stream itself.

NEWS - WATER INSPIRATION GALORE!

House & Garden: Pools, ponds and rills - a garden designer'‘s guide to water features

Financial Times: Gardens that harness the power of water

IN MY OWN GARDEN…

NEPETA

HUMMING WITH LIFE

I have a collection of the ubiquitous nepeta x fassenii in the garden. Like a lot of the plants we’ve added, they’re adopted - left over from a project with Berdoulat a couple of years ago. They’ve grown like mad and even though it’s not the most exciting plant, it catches the evening light, I like the scent and it is always humming with bees and butterflies. A real all rounder, and popular for a reason!

COTTAGE GARDEN GLORY

PEAK PASTEL

As observant readers will know we inherited a ton of multi-coloured roses, with little scent, so most have been re-homed. The few we have kept are now in full swing, and perhaps a little too much as this rose is buckling under the weight of the blooms. I enjoy the fleeting moment when the campanula flower underneath, it’s light purple, papery flowers mingling with the roses and grasses.

IN MY DREAMS

FUTURE GRAVEL GARDEN

In the courtyard at the back of the house, we have a lot of unsightly things happening. It’s where we hang the laundry, and the hose is left in a tangled mess, and the worst offender is a bed brimming with ground elder. It’s saving grace is an old, gnarly hydrangea petiolaris. One day, we’ll turn this into a gravel garden, installing a sauna and a water feature to create an oasis of calm. One day.

Lithograph of Water Made of Lines and a Green Wash, David Hockney

TABI JACKSON GEE