More than plants
Just as a home is more than simply rooms and furniture, so a garden is more than spaces and plants
Of course, plants are essential. No one would disagree with that! However, there is another element that makes a good garden. Arguably underrated but most assuredly subjective. That element is the Accessories, i.e. the design embellishments, garden decor, those finishing touches. It’s something I’ve only come to appreciate myself, very recently, and why I felt certain gardens (including my own) felt a little flat. It’s only when I was visiting other gardens, the penny finally dropped:
It’s good to add character!
Beyond the allure of plants
Many newbie gardeners’ initial focus is very much on the greenery and understandably so. I’ve been there! We’ve all been there! Plant shopping can be so addictive it should carry a public health warning. Or at least a bank account warning when your smart-arse app detects you’ve entered the proverbial Aladdin’s Cave! Let's not mention those shiny tools!!
Aspirational lush green lawns, shapely shrubs, fragrant roses, blossoming trees, and an endless range of gorgeous flowering perennials all seem so much more important, more enticing than anything else. However, just as a home is more than simply rooms and furniture, so a garden is more than spaces and plants. To my mind, the best gardens encompass planting, structure, layout and vistas, but crucially the use of materials, focal points and embellishments, either subtly or theatrically.
Arts & Crafts
The Arts & Crafts movement of the late 19th and early 20th century championed the use of local materials, skilfully employed to create beautiful, engaging gardens, generally on a smaller more relatable scale. There’s inspiration and ideas abound for our own gardens in the 21st century and I find these gardens, in particular, highly influential in my own garden.
If you’re unfamiliar with Arts & Crafts gardens, make it your mission to find them and visit them. The world renowned Great Dixter is arguably the most famous and most recognisable example. On a more modest scale, York Gate on the outskirts of Leeds, Yorkshire is one of the very finest examples, with everything from path materials to pruning styles sparking wonder and amazement. Coleton Fishacre, situated just above Kingswear in Devon is another.
Theatricality
There are great gardens around the United Kingdom with a jaw-dropping application of classical architecture and sculpture, long vistas and epic topiary. I am, of course, talking about the celebrated gardens of Hidcote, Sissinghurst, Levens Hall, but especially Iford Manor (near Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire), originally designed by Harold Peto.
There, statues and architectural relics from antiquity are juxtaposed with ancient wisterias and understated water features, culminating in a truly inspiring sense of theatre, in the most magical setting. Unquestionably, one of my absolute favourite gardens in this country and a must see… although while we’re on the subject, my all time favourite is Great Dixter. No other garden has ‘spoken’ to me quite like Dixter!
Bringing the ideas home
Back in our own humble abodes, we can still take inspiration from the grand estates and gardens of great renown. It doesn't have to be priceless stone relics and classical statues. Plant pots, benches, the material underfoot, steps, walls, gateways, doorways, gardening paraphernalia, obelisks, archways, pergolas, and arbours can all contribute to a sense of style, theatre and/or heritage.
It should be personal too. It’s your garden after all and it should reflect you and your own predilections. Avoid the ‘cut and paste’ mentality. Allow yourself time to develop your style. This is where visiting other gardens is so invaluable. You can cherry pick elements that grab your attention, fill your mind with ideas and inspirations, and apply them to your own garden!
In my garden, harking back to the Arts & Crafts philosophy, we use local Cotswolds gravel throughout to connect all the spaces together. Right from the main gates, through the driveway, around the Kitchen Garden and down the Flower Garden path. In the Cottage Garden, now mostly hidden by the yew hedge, there are original railway sleepers still with the nuts and bolts, used as a retaining wall and the garden steps - a nod to the nearby railway town.
Regarding the garden decor, there are modest architectural adornments, such as stone balusters and finials. A pair of former pillar-top stone lion ‘guardians’ welcoming you to the front door. Much of the stone garden decor has been generously gifted to us by my partner’s uncle, a lifelong stonemason.
It’s wonderful to be able to acknowledge his skill and include that heritage in our garden. Originally destined for the Oxford Colleges and many grand houses around the country, these gems didn't make the highest grade. If he hadn’t preserved them, it’s likely they would have been pulverised.
However, to me, they look truly magnificent in our third of an acre ‘middle-sized garden’ surrounded by plants, enjoyed by us and the local birdlife. Stone balusters, that would have lined palatial balconies and terraces, are used as rather posh bird tables and whimsical side-tables, just wide enough for a single cuppa or icy G&T. The largest balusters support stone finials that we found at Frome Reclamation. They’re rather more grand and act as strong verticals either side of the Garden Terrace steps as you drop down into the Flower Garden.
As much as I appreciate garden decor in the warmer months, their value soars in the winter, when all else has faded apart from the evergreen topiary. During these stark months of perpetual grey, occasionally punctuated by clear sunlight and frost, the stonework, benches, and structure still give you that essential interest. Something structural, yet beautiful to look out upon, during those dreary cold and miserable days!
Pausing on the Terrace Garden, one regret is that when we built the terrace in 2016 we used an imported sandstone rather than sourcing something locally, but this also came down to a question of cost and practicality. Besides, we were not the gardeners we are today and didn’t even consider such things. But that’s ok. It takes time to find your style and settle on designs and themes. That’s why I’m a gardener and not a garden designer. My gardens are constantly evolving, usually a very long way from those initial, slightly wooly, layout sketches.
A vintage courtyard
On Instagram, my garden is probably most widely known for the Courtyard Garden a.k.a. the White Garden. Perhaps because it is relatively small, with the scope and style easily applied to small gardens everywhere, in sun or shade. I’ve received so many wonderful messages, from all over the world, saying how the Courtyard has inspired them and that they’re recreating it in their own style. Truly heartwarming!
Sited in the sunny corner of our gravel driveway, comprised entirely from containers, there are over forty vintage galvanised buckets, boilers, baths, tanks, troughs, and Dolly tubs. The most important word there is ‘vintage’. Recycling an assortment of old galvanised containers helps give the Courtyard Garden a sense of age and heritage.
Somehow, there is alchemy between the vintage containers and the plants giving the impression that they have always been there. As a side-note, I feel exactly the same way about those self-seeding pioneering plants like Erigeron, Aquilegia, Hardy Geraniums, Verbena bonariensis, and Hollyhocks. They tend to find a home in the gaps between paving slabs and steps, or popping up in the gravel or edges of borders, conveying an impression of a long-established garden. Something that should be encouraged, albeit with gentle editing.
Sourcing
How do you source these materials, garden decor, and vintage elements without familial connections to stonemasonry, for example? For hard landscaping materials, really look around your local area. What are the buildings made from? What is the history of your town? Could you take inspiration from these? Builders merchants carry a vast range of materials these days, just like the Cotswolds buff gravel we use. It could just as easily be cobbles and flint for paths, or brick pavers in a basket-weave or herringbone design.
For the decor, try any of the following: Salvage and reclamation dealers; Vintage and antique dealers; Car boots sales; Auctions and house clearances. The majority of our galvanised planters were sourced from a single dealer (Henry Vaughan @antique.gent) who has a steady supply from France. While others were bought from local vintage dealers or dealers found on Instagram.
Concerning budgets
Although it is definitely worth buying ‘vintage galvanised’ (because modern fabrications are paper thin and rust through in a year and are, quite frankly, a total rip-off), you don’t need everything to be vintage or antique. Sometimes the cost is prohibitive, especially when you look at metal benches and furniture. For example, original Victorian Coalbrookdale benches sell for £££ thousands! Genuine antique Lutyens benches are over £1,000 too.
So compromises need to be made. We settled on a pair of teak Bramblecrest Lutyens-style benches from Burford Garden Company about ten years ago and they’ve just been allowed to ‘grey’ with age, gathering a little natural lichen beautification! A characterful vintage metal Love Seat from the 70s for under £100 as opposed to the Victorian cast iron original costing several hundred £££. I love the fact that very few of our benches match. Yes, there are two pairs of matching Lutyens-style benches, but the rest are a complete mishmash.
Focal points
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to enrich your garden with far-reaching vistas bookended by colossal urns, waterfalls and fountains, classic statues and the like… But for me, here in this garden, I use a humble, but arguably more practical and functional focal point.
Bright white benches are used throughout the garden as convenient ‘attention grabbers’ and they’re all modest purchases. Our Lutyens-style white benches were flat-packed from Wayfair. The small white loveseat was a bargain from a local vintage dealer. The white Cottage Garden bench and Courtyard Garden bistro set are from mainstream garden centres. They've just been allowed to age, letting nature do its thing, without worrying about a little rust… isn’t that ‘shabby chic’ patina?!
The latest addition to the garden is a traditional beehive based on the classic design from the 1800s, but with bright white sides and a slate gabled roof. To me, this is a great example of garden decor, because: It’s fun and theatrical; Handmade with care; Makes a great focal point; Reflects our tastes and personalities - my partner is absolutely besotted with bees and almost all my ornamental planting decisions have bees firmly in mind!
Final thoughts…
As autumn gives way to winter and we’re ushered indoors by weather and darkness, it is the perfect time to assess your garden and see how you can develop its character. Visit open gardens while you can and see how they use materials, decor and focal points. Then, set yourself a budget and research reputable salvage and vintage dealers. You don’t need to (shouldn’t) buy everything at once. Add a little every year and edit as you go. If something no longer makes you smile, then it’s time to sell it on!
A garden is never finished.
It’s always growing and evolving.
As all living entities should.
Coming up…
It’s time to make Leafmould - true garden gold! I’ll provide a simple guide, because it’s the simplest compost anyone can make. It’s also the most beautiful! Then, we’ll conclude the Spring Bulb series, looking at problem pests and diseases, issues that can arise, and what to do with bulbs after they’ve finished flowering.
I have been tempted many times by original Coalbrookdale benches at auction but the bids go sky high - gone are the days when you could pick them up for next to nothing .at a general sale 'cos nobody knew what they were