Bringing Nature Home - notes from a garden
Never have we been so thankful for an outside space. For those lucky enough to have a garden or a piece of earth to grow in we are counting our blessings and finding stronger connections to the earth
Here Brendan Murdock who reinvented the barber shop with Murdock and is now re-inventing aromacology and wellbeing with anatomé talks to rakes about his garden in suffolk
What does a garden mean to you?
It’s a place of relaxation and contemplation. When you are gardening your head mostly clears of thoughts and stresses and takes on a different focus and energy, the only other pastime that gives me that balance is swimming or cycling. but with gardening you are touching earth, considering the progress a plant has made, or figuring out what has gone wrong, and then it’s simply great to relax and unwind in the garden.
What’s in your garden - describe your outside space?
So it’s a cottage garden, relaxed and unstructured, in many ways we are making it up as we go along. We have created zones and areas to enjoy different times of the day and season.
We live on top of a hill, a rarity in suffolk, so we have fields extending from both the front and back of the cottage that provide the most remarkable views - and the light in suffolk is magical, with no hills or mountains we often have very clear, wide, luminous skies.
The previous owner I understand was a masseur/ alternative treatment practitioner so she had grown grapes, herbs etc, so there was some foundations to build on. There are now a few zones, in the back garden - there’s the immediate garden with the dining area and lawn, with roses and various plants like fox-gloves and lavenders with a few sitting areas to relax. There is a fence that divides this section from the rear garden that during lock down I built a small brick path that takes you to another seating area that has pots and a couple of beds with a blend of herbs and flowers from lavender to echinacea and currently some bright coloured dahlias. Then there’s a potting shed and a large raised bank that takes you up to a garden bench where I often sit with a morning coffee to take in the sun rise. This overlooks a large field - currently full of golden wheat.
This new section still has a lot of maturing to do.
The front garden is perfect in the evening for the sunset as the front cottage gets bathed in light from around 6pm and there’s a view that extends across the fields.
Has the garden been a labour of love?
Suffolk is a heavy clay area, so not every-thing thrives so we have had to think more carefully about what to plant, and where we really choose to plant traditional 'cottage garden plants' we’ve had to remove some clay and replace the soil.
How does the garden/ natural world inspire your work?
Greatly. At anatomé each of our essential oils contain up to 28 different extracts that support your sleep and mental health, so as my knowledge increases in this area of aromachology it’s now being reflected more in my garden.
where does that scent /smell take you?
Scent takes you to the past, triggering so many memories and emotions, but as we engage in more scents, it connects your brain with what you are feeling, what you feel informs what your body is needing to sooth, ground or support you.
Describe beauty in one sentence ?
Beauty is a natural, moving form, it can come from the most unexpected places, whether it the garden or a smell in the city, a building, something that emotionally elevates you.
How do you go about navigating the contradictory info around supplements and create something that is truly effective ?
We are focusing on the science with an evidenced based approach, that is why we refer to the creation of our oils as aromachology which is just that. Aromatherapy is more holistic in its approach.
On the supplement side, we are providing key supporting compounds, that alongside a healthy diet ensure your immune and stress levels across the body are balanced and supported.
what is your one most important health tip?
Exercise every day, and preferably in the morning, that way your day is structured and fulfilling
And what’s next?
For now anatomé , there’s still so much work to do to create a truly wonderful brand of global reach, perhaps after that I can travel and see more places where our oils and extracts come from. Then I'm tempted to open an irish oyster bar, but after the last 6 months of covid who knows….
anatomé
Bringing Nature Home - notes from your garden
Never have we been so thankful for an outside space. For those lucky enough to have a garden or a piece of earth to grow in we are counting our blessings and finding stronger connections to the earth
Michelle Feeney the founder of Floral Street fragrances talks about her love of nature and her garden
What can you see out of your window? Describe your view
Today I am in my London House in St. Johns Wood. I have an amazing view onto the street from my office where I watch the seasons pass via the incredible Plain Trees. The camouflage pattern on the trunk is profound and now in the summer the branches are lush -in the winter months the trees become amazing sculptures.
What does a garden mean to you?
Freedom, connection to nature, a calming constant, a sanctuary and now more than ever a meeting place. I have a London garden and a house in Worcestershire where we have 18 acres. This larger land has become the place where sky and earth meet, where weather of any kind becomes a painting and where my mind can truly expand.
What’s in your garden - describe your outside space?
My garden in London is large and quite formal and was originally designed by John Plummer - in the three years we have been here I haven’t changed it much. It has large white Annabelle and Villosa hydrangeas’ that dominate the lawns but hidden behind the hedges that frame them are surprises. I have an entire plot of my favourite hostas and another of roses. We also have stunning Dicksonia antartica ferns right outside the window which bring a touch exotic. In Worcestershire we planted a wild meadow over 5 years ago which this Summer has really blossomed and although we have missed lilacs and roses when we were able to travel, this year is bumper for butterflies. We have also planted an orchard! I asked everyone to buy me a heritage fruit tree for my 50tth birthday! I really am trying to create legacy with this land.
Has lockdown changed the way you see it?
Yes!! I feel the whole household are experiencing the garden rather than just looking at it. During lock down we stayed in London and truly saw the seasons change, we went from Spring blossom to full Summer bloom but ‘lived it’ and enjoyed it and photographed it. Plus, we have installed lots of different bird feeders and have enjoyed observing how each species behave. Our surprise has been the parakeets, we literally have six come and feed at once, their loud screeching transporting us to far off climes! Also, it has become our entertaining space as the virus encourages staying outside, we even have our haircuts out there!
When did you realise you were you first interested in gardens?
Forever really. Growing up we didn’t have a house with a garden until I was 10 but our Summer trips to Ireland dropped me into rural settings with home grown vegetables, haystacks and even peat fires. I was very aware of nature and the role we as humans are supposed to play.
Describe beauty in one sentence.
English heritage roses after the rain, the slightly lilting or fallen petals combined with the powerful scent experience.
What’s your favourite plant or flower?
I of course have many! Lilac has a particular place in my heart, I think because it is fleeting and always feels wild and its heady aroma reminds me of the seasons starting to change.
Who or what inspires you?
My children inspire me, my son Harry is 27 and my daughter Emma 16. They both teach me how to evolve for the future and both have visions for a more harmonious one with nature which inspires me to try and make a difference. Both unknowingly helped me visualize FLORAL STREET as a sustainable brand.
What book are you reading?
I have just read Isabelle Allendes novel A Long Petal of The Sea inspired by a trip to Chile and simultaneously The Overstory by Richard Powers which recounts life through trees. I usually read about three books at once!!!
Favourite scent?
Currently Arizona Bloom our latest edition. I feel really close to this dry amber floral as it was inspired by my trip to The Atacama Desert in Chile! I experienced its barren beauty and was so moved by its irresistibly contemplative ambience. It made me want to create a fragrance grounded in nature and capturing the feeling of total freedom with a natural high!
Where does scent /smell take you?
Anywhere I want to be in the world and also allows me to time travel as certain smells remind me of times in my life or places I have lived.
What positive change will you take away from lockdown?
Live fully in the moment and truly SEE and HEAR nature and those you cherish. Be focused not distracted and be grateful, thankful, and kind.
William Foster is one half of Foster Lomas -the award-winning architecture and design studio. William Foster and Greg Lomas have a holistic and sustainable approach to architecture that ensures that nature and ecology, site, materials and build are all equally respected.
Originally from a craft background, Will worked for renowned blacksmith James Horrobin before completing his Architectural degree and training.
What can you see out of your window?
The reality is that I live in a dense neighbourhood of South East London. When converting my own loft, I made sure my view framed the nature and everything else hidden.
Lying in my bed, I can see beautiful fir trees swaying in the wind as if they were part of an alpine forest. I imagine that I am looking out from a retreat in one of the great American National parks. The closer you look, the more you see birds resting on its outstretched arms. It’s calming to see them gently swaying in sync with the tree, nestled deep within the branches.
Framing views of nature has been a recurring theme of my architectural practice Foster Lomas. Our project on the Isle of Man essentially is one great framed view which is perfect for surveying the wildlife reserve which lies beyond. ( See Image of Sartfell Retreat)
What’s in your garden - describe your outside space?
Our garden is small and we try make most of it. We have a picket fence on each side, which allows us to speak to our neighbours, bringing a shared sense of space. Through this fence we share wildlife, plants and even fruit from the each other’s gardens.
This communal aspect of our garden makes it feel expansive. Adults may have a good natter over a cup of tea while our children may have water fights over these fences.
Our garden is also busy with small animals - squirrels and cats come through our garden constantly. We also have a frog we call ‘Lenny’ who hangs out in our sunken tub pond placed in the shaded area of our garden protected by ferns.
Has lockdown changed the way you see it?
Lockdown has reinforced the importance of outdoor space and the fact our gardens are full of life if we pay more attention to them. You can also hear neighbours engaged in DIY, children playing, cats meowing. It’s a good reminder that we have a close-knit community in our part of the city - that we care for each other and need each other. If our home offers privacy and security, our garden opens out to be part of many little gardens that make up our community. Our garden it’s just a fragment of many little gardens which is my community my home by security
When did you realise you were you first interested in gardens?
My interest really lies with landscape and growing up in rural exmoor where I was allowed to roam free, playing in the woods, rivers and fields etc. I loved to make things from what I found scattered around, dens, dams and even grass sculptures. I pretty much employ this same philosophy to building architecture now, it is great to find out what each location has to offer. We start with the sense of place its history, materiality, the ecology and the elements. Combine them you have a start of a brief to design something inherently imbedded in its location.
Describe beauty in one sentence ?
That magic moment when architecture, nature and the elements are all in sync together. I recently experienced a rainstorm while walking in the wilds of West Penwith among the megalithic stone structures -it was very moving.
What’s your favourite plant or flower?
Being an architect, I love ferns – I like seeing their beautiful spiral-patterns leaves interact with light, creating beautiful shadows and inspiring strong forms.
Who or what inspires you?
I love to experience landscape in relationship to the natural elements and people. Every place I visit has a story, a narrative of how it has come about.
I enjoy learning the history of a place or a village or a building, how they came to be, how they were formed, as well as studying the landscape and weather patterns.
What book are you reading ?
I am reading “Scotland from Pre-history to the Present” by Fiona Watson I’m interested how the Scottish landscape was formed.
Favourite scent?
From the garden it’s when I clip my tomato leaves, the smell reminds me how good they are going to taste!
What positive change will you take away from lockdown?
I am more than ever before determined to design buildings that work with nature rather than against it.
Further Information on the work of Foster Lomas, click here
CREDITS From top
Portrait and garden - photographs Michael Franke
FINAL IMAGE _ A RESTORATIVE RURAL RETREAT FOR SARTFELL - Designed by Foster Lomas / photograph Edmund Sumner
Dedicated to colour, line and drape, womenswear label Louisa Parris, creates silk pieces with strong graphic abstract elements. Louisa's visually-striking designs celebrate vibrant and bold colours, while remaining fuss-free and contemporary
What can you see out of your window? Describe your view. I’m getting used to the view from my new studio – it’s not the prettiest since it looks out onto other buildings – but the windows are big so the light is amazing and we now have a bit more space. I’m very grateful for that.
What does a garden means to you? It means the future, the dream, the orangery. Ha Ha. We live in a lovely flat but no garden with two young children.
What’s in your garden - describe your outside space? (or balcony/windowsill!) In the front we have a very broken but beautiful Grade II listed Victorian path, with Geraniums and a Cotinus Coggygria Royal Purple (Smoke Bush) that is nearly 3 stories high. It’s an absolute joy to watch it change colour with the seasons.
Has lockdown changed the way you see it? Yes, it has made it clear that we need to make the leap and finally move, to have a garden for our minds and for our children.
How does the garden/natural world inspire your work? Colour, form, texture etc? Currently it would be colour... I’m constantly taking photos and go out of my way to go to gardens and seek new inspiration. Often these photos make it to the moodboards to help with colour combinations and prints for each new season. I’m a frustrated gardener, so whether it’s a trip to Kew Gardens, Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall or the botanical garden in Kauai, Hawaii when we were there on honeymoon. I will make bee-line in order to wander the greenhouses.
Describe beauty in one sentence? Ah too hard... but it’s personal and comes from a quick gut reaction.
What’s your favourite plant or flower? Geraniums, the smell, the bold colour, the texture of the leaf and their silhouette. It’s also what I remember my grandparents and parents all growing inside and out.
Who or what inspires you? Many in different fields, family and friends, but I recently watched (while in lockdown) the Michelle Obama documentary and she still is a huge inspiration to me.
What book are you reading ? Re-reading Light Years, by Elizabeth Jane Howard. I was reading some heavy books and I found it too much. So I went back to the family from the 1930’s that I fell in love with years ago.
Favourite scent? Do Son by Diptyque.
Where does that scent /smell take you? Living in San Francisco.
What positive change will you take away from lockdown? This constant need to be going at 100 miles an hour. The fashion industry has a pressure to be working so far ahead and producing huge amounts. For me it is the quiet understanding that I need to go at my own pace and if collections only happens twice a year and a small amount, then I’m very happy with that – the family and myself need to come a bit further up the list.
Instagram : Louisa Parris
Images from top
The Pot of Geraniums by Odilon Redon c.1910
Portrait of Louisa
Louisa Parris scarf
Thiebaud garden dress by Louisa
Bringing nature home – notes from a garden
Never have we been so thankful for an outside space. For those of us lucky enough to have a garden or a piece of earth to grow things on, we are counting our blessings and finding stronger connections to the earth.
We ask gardeners, designers, artists, friends to tell us about their spaces and why a green fix is important for the soul. Here, hair and make-up artist James McMahon tells rakesprogress about the view from his window and what a garden means to him.
Describe the view from your window
Horizontal bands of colour:
A manicured green lawn
The soft grey of concrete hardscaping
The sparkling blue of my swimming pool
A narrow band of Ligustrum hedging
The chocolate-brown stained Douglas fir fence
Another green band of Ficus hedge
All crowned by a horizon of palm trees, silhouetted against an infinite azure sky.
What does a garden mean to you?
Tranquility.
Describe your garden My garden is a green oasis in the searing Mojave desert. It’s a geometrically arranged, open space of grass, swimming pool and acid-washed concrete, with a perimeter surrounding of Palm Springs gold gravel and lush green Ficus hedges. There is also shady grove of mature citrus trees and a selection of palm trees. Splashes of colour are provided by Texas Lantana (Lantana Urticoides), Mexican Birds of Paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) and white Oleander.
Has lockdown changed the way you see it?No, I’ve always appreciated it as my personal safe space, away from the bustle of Los Angeles.
When did you first realise you were interested in gardens?My mother was an avid gardener, so I guess spending time in the garden was something I grew up with.
Describe beauty in one sentenceBeauty can be found everywhere and in everything – it’s multisensory.
What’s your favourite plant or flower?Plumeria. I love their simplicity and fragrance, and they remind me of my childhood.
Who or what inspires you?The malleability of life, and the knowledge that you hold all the keys to your own puzzles.
What book are you currently reading?
Full Service by Scotty Bowers. Interesting revelations about the Hollywood stars of the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s
Favourite scent
Jasmine
Where does that sent / smell take you?
It takes me to Spring, my favourite season. New beginnings and the anticipation of the coming summer.
What positive change will you take away from lockdown?
For me, the lockdown has reinforced the importance of being thankful, living in the moment, and fully appreciating who and what you have in your life.
One of my favorite quotes
"Perhaps he knew, as I did not, that the Earth was made round so that we would not see too far down the road. " -Karen Blixen, Out of Africa.
James McMahon is a hair and make-up artist living and working in Los Angeles and Palm Springs. His work ranges from editorial shoots for magazines such as British Vogue and Marie Claire to working with international stars such as Britney Spears. During a career spanning 25 years, he has built up a reputation not only as a leader in his field but also as an imaginative predictor of trend, colour and cosmetic design.
@jamesmcmahon5
Bringing nature home – notes from a garden
Never have we been so thankful for an outside space. For those of us lucky enough to have a garden or a piece of earth to grow things on, we are counting our blessings and finding stronger connections to the earth.
We ask gardeners, designers, artists, friends to tell us about their spaces and why a green fix is important for the soul. Here, Ashley Woodfield, Head of Press for the Royal Ballet, tells rakesprogress about the view from his window and what a garden means to him.
What can you see from your window? Describe your view
My flat in Canterbury is located at the top of what was once a grand Georgian house. I’m at the back, in the eaves, in the former servant quarters. From up here, I look across the red-brown clay-tiled rooftops of Canterbury; chimney stacks pepper the view. There’s a row of hornbeams with their lime-green leaves blowing in the breeze. There’s a chink, a tease almost of the cathedral spire and, in the vast distant, glimpses of Kent’s rolling hills.
What does a garden mean to you?
For me, a garden is a haven, a place to lose yourself in thought and nature. I can spend hours pottering, admiring, watching, waiting for things to grow, to bloom. It’s the sense of anticipation, celebration and frustration. In the garden, there is no wrong or right – it’s a place where there’s no judgement, no deadlines. The garden is a million miles away from the world of PR. It is a place I can retreat too and pause.
What’s in your garden? Describe your outside space or balcony window sill
As my flat sits above what was once the ballroom of the house – a grand, oval-shaped room – it benefits from a small lead sill with a parapet that creates a ledge where I have lots of pots. This space is filled with a variety of plants. Up here, there are no rules and I grow what I please. I particularly love my strikingly tall and marvellous angelica, which has just burst into flower. There are also a gigantic verbena, pots of English lavender, which throw out the longest whips of fragrant flowers, thyme, fennel, blue scabiosa, anemones, foxgloves and whispers of white umbellifers. It’s my paradise. I have an area for seedlings, cardoon, cosmos and ornamental poppies, all purchased last year from the Chelsea Flower Show, and all in their infancy and thriving.
But this year I’ve gained a new space, a scratch of land, neglected and forgotten in the communal carpark at the back of the flats. When lockdown was imposed, I was blessed with time to plan and grow and care for a patch of garden long since forgotten by my fellow residents. This second space, in addition to my window ledge has become a wonderful distraction and a space for me to realise the garden that has existed in my mind for far too long.
How has lockdown changed the way you see it?
Lockdown has enabled me to potter each day and, for me, that’s the secret of gardening – little and often. The garden has also given me something to fill my time with, and it takes me away from the exhaustion of homeworking, emails, video meetings and phone calls. I long to be back at the Royal Opera House, with the dancers and my colleagues. I miss my family, my friends and, until we return to normal, the garden is my new love.
When did you first realise you were interested in gardening?
My childhood was filled with gardens; both my grandparents spent hours in theirs, and I gained so much joy from helping them and learning how to tend a garden. I grew runner beans, pinks and summer bedding plants, pruned hedges and mowed lawns. I loved taking cuttings, planting bulbs and caring for plants. My parents and brother, however, had little time or interest in gardening and so it was left to me to look after the garden at home. When I was 18 and deciding on my university course, I grappled with studying either horticulture or the arts – and the arts won out, but I wonder where I’d be now if I’d chosen horticulture.
Describe beauty in one sentence.
The guise of beauty is captured in many ways, from the grace of a dance to the dash of a perfect outfit, from a line of eloquently written text to the design of a building or the border of an English garden bursting with delphiniums, peonies, foxgloves and roses.
What is your favourite plant or flower
With its layers of folded petals, vast variety of colours and scents, the rose is my favourite flower. The myriad of types makes the rose a plant that has endless possibilities in the garden. It’s the perfect cut flower, and a single stem will lift any room. The rose is precious yet tough. Its thorns remind us to not get too close, to handle it with care and respect, and rightfully so. There’s nothing quite like the rose, in my eyes she’s the queen of the garden.
Who or what inspires you
I’m endlessly inspired by art, music, dance, photography, fashion, literature and my friends.
What book are you reading at the moment?
I’ve just finished Virginia Woolf’s last novel, Between the Acts. The story is set over the course of a day in 1939 in a country house where an annual summer pageant is taking place in the grounds. Woolf’s writing is delicious. Her ability to describe a domestic scene, an aside, a thought are truly wonderful. The story follows a family, their thoughts and hopes against a backdrop of the village pageant and the foreboding of the Second World War. What I love about this novel is the way that Woolf describes the English countryside, nature and the summertime with such clarity. But perhaps what I also love most about Woolf’s writing is often the final sentence which isn’t an ending but a beginning, similar to Mrs Dalloway – profound, breathtaking, striking and brilliant.
What’s your favourite scent?
Nothing compares to the scent of a Chandos rose – it has such depth and layers. It’s sweet like sherbet then has a deeper powdery quality. Calming, relaxing and, of course, romantic.
Where does that scent take you?
It takes me to a million places and times: memories of summer gardens, of long baths with rose oil, and of Granada where my friend and I spent an afternoon at the beautiful Patio perfumery, mixing and learning about the art of scent and the magic of the rose.
What positive change will you take away from lockdown?
The lockdown has taught me about the joy of slowing down. Normally, I’m running between events, openings and press receptions, meeting people, always on the go, but this period of pause has freed up time for me to garden, to read more, to draw and paint. When the lockdown ends, I promise to cherish moments more – shared experiences will seem so much more precious.
Ashley Woodfield is Head of Press at The Royal Ballet and sits on the board of charity Arts and Gardens
@ashleywoodfield
Bringing nature home – notes from a garden
Never have we been so thankful for an outside space. For those of us lucky enough to have a garden or a piece of earth to grow things on, we are counting our blessings and finding stronger connections to the earth.
We ask gardeners, designers, artists, friends to tell us about their spaces and why a green fix is important for the soul. Here landscape and garden designer Miria Harris tells rakesprogress about her view from her window and what a garden means to her.
What can you see out of your window?
Two climbing white roses dominate the view into the garden from the kitchen in our house – two spaces that we are all spending a lot of our time in these days.
Describe your view
It’s a view that, because of the house’s layout, is visible as soon as you walk through the front door. The rose by the back door is called Rosa Sombreuil, a spiky, vicious little thing that will have your eye out given half the chance, but with the most delicious citrus tea scent. It’s too thorny for any client’s garden but I love it’s split personality. The rose climbing at the back of the garden, Madame Alfred Carrière, teased us for many years before she started blooming, but now she won’t stop, putting forth her grapefruit- scented buds from the end of April until late into October, and dripping over the back wall so she can generously share her flowers with our neighbours in the estate behind.
What does a garden mean to you?
Having outside space was one of the main reasons we moved to our house 14 years ago. A garden is a tiny piece of outside space that we can claim as our own; it scratches an itch for access to the natural world, and softens our urban existence.
What’s in your garden? Describe your outside space?
Aside from the roses, there is a big romping Wisteria sinensis that flowers like there’s no tomorrow and a beautifully fragrant Azalea Whitethroat in a old copper-riveted basin. There are also lots of edible plants; among all the veg I’m growing there are blueberry and redcurrant bushes, tons of strawberries and a faithful Loch Ness blackberry bush. There are always lots of orphan plants because of what I do, and because it’s really just a courtyard, lots of pots of different styles, all with different stories. They include a Willy Guhl bowl we picked up for a song at a vintage furniture fair in south London; cast-iron urns I bought for a floral installation I designed many years ago; chimney pots given to us by my husband’s mum; and my favourite, a random perforated copper pot that we bought for one euro at a flea market just outside Lille. There’s just enough space for a table with bench and chairs, and a small corten steel pizza oven, which has been getting a lot of use recently.
Has lockdown changed the way you see your space?
Like many people, lockdown has made me appreciate and value our outside space more than I ever have. We’re out there every day, growing stuff, eating, sharing pizzas with our neighbours across the fence and talking to friends, clients and colleagues on video calls. When we first moved here, we had plans for the garden to be a potager – that it would be mainly edible, culinary plants – but then I realised that it also needed to be a view, not just a work station. It’s always been a place for me to experiment and learn rather than a ‘designed’ space, but in recent years I’ve not spent much time gardening; I’ve been too busy creating gardens for other people. Since lockdown, I’ve made time to garden again, got the kids involved and reconnect with it. I watch my peas grow obsessively and construct all sorts of crazy net-and-bamboo-cane sculptures to keep our cats from chewing on our beans.
When did you realise you were you first interested in gardens?
One of my earliest memories is the smell of a tomato plant in the greenhouse that belonged to my mum’s godmother, a surrogate grandmother we called Aunt Angela. She smoked like a chimney and had the most incredible green fingers. I love that gardens are such great vessels for memories.
Describe beauty in one sentence ?
Something surprising, encountered when you least expect it, that makes you think about things differently.
What’s your favourite plant or flower?
Roses will always be my favourite flowers because they remind me of home.
Who or what inspires you?
Inspiration comes in many forms; it might be a piece of furniture that I can use somewhere, a work of art, a piece of writing or discovering a new plant that I’ve not come across before.
What book are you reading?
I have about three books on the go at the moment for different moods. Wilding by Isabella Tree, a book that’s making me think about lots of different things. The Book of Dust; Volume 2 by Philip Pullman for escapism and in tandem with my son, and Jules Hudson’s book on walled gardens because I’m designing one for a job in Kent at the moment.
Favourite scent?
Jasmine.
Where does that scent/smell take you?
Back to the first night we spent in our home. It was this time of the year and similarly warm. The garden had the sweetest smelling old giant of a jasmine plant that filled the air with its perfume. The rooms were full of boxes, so we slept outside on the grass, fully embracing our own corner of green in the world until we were woken at 6am by the bin men.
What positive change will you take away from lockdown?
To make more time for my own garden, not just other people’s.
To discover more about Miria’s work, click here
