On a winter day, the entire view from Jacky Hobbs' window shimmers with grasses and perennial seedheads. "Many of the plants are huge, they tower over us and fill the windows," she says. "I love the fact that these plants stay up all winter. It is wonderful if we get a frost. I go to the bottom of the garden in the morning and look up and it's backlit and it's like everything is just sprinkled in diamonds. It's magical, like a fairyland."
The view wasn't always so special. For many years, Jacky and her partner looked out from their 17th-century, Cotswold-stone farmhouse on to cars. "There was a York stone dining terrace outside of the house and then a parking area right next to it. You just looked out of every window at cars." Then, after 13 years of dividing their time between here and London, the coupled decided to move to the Cotswolds full time, and Jacky felt it was time to do something about the garden.
Jacky is a garden photographer, writer and stylist, and so spends a lot of her time visiting gardens and garden shows, but this had left her feeling a bit overwhelmed with ideas. "I'd seen so many wonderful gardens. Every one I went to was my favourite for that week. I just couldn't sieve through all of the ideas to reach one coherent style." After dithering for a year, her partner Simon (who "knows little about gardening but enjoys sitting on a mower and chopping things") forced her hand by bringing in two designers. "They weren't right but I said fair enough, I'm under pressure now. I'll find someone."
How to plant for year-round interest
Denne historien er fra December 2023-utgaven av Gardens Illustrated.
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Denne historien er fra December 2023-utgaven av Gardens Illustrated.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
WHY SHOULD I VOLUNTEER?
Giving your free time to volunteer in the community or as a mentor can have a big impact, and also benefit you in ways you can't imagine, says John Wyer
EARTHLY CONCERN
Weeds, slugs, birds and mice - all are welcome on Birch Farm in Devon, where Joshua Sparkes seeks to respect the local ecosystem and mimic nature in his innovative approach to growing
Gardening is good for you
In the first of his new factual column on the benefits of gardening, Dr Richard Claxton uncovers all the evidence-based ways it can help your physical health.
TANGERINE DREAM
On the edge of one of London's busiest roundabouts, Nigel Dunnett has created exciting combinations of drought-tolerant plants for a roof garden that is as unexpected as it is joyful
GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT
Growing your own edible plants is a great way to boost your gut microbiome. Discover expert picks of edimentals that are both beautiful and beneficial
Waste not, nice plot
Designer Miria Harris gave herself the challenge of a no-skip, zero-waste project, giving away, recycling or reusing everything in this back garden before transforming it into a space her client could love
One for all
A new community garden designed by Sarah Price around an old library turned arts centre in southeast London is a treasured space for local residents and garden lovers alike
Meet our horticultural HEROES
Discover the stories of the extraordinary garden champions who are making a difference to places, people, plants and the planet
SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE
In the culinary world, chefs and food writers sometimes closely guard their recipes, says Nigel Slater. Among gardeners, however, there is a refreshing spirit of generosity
Autumn at Sissinghurst
As the garden slips into a new season, head gardener Troy Scott Smith and his team are busy with tasks from hedge cutting and lawn work to bulb planting and sowing seeds.
