Jekyll's Hideaways

Garden designer and horticulturalist Gertrude Jekyll was born in 1843. Jekyll's thirst for knowledge perhaps first became apparent when she was a young girl. Her father encouraged her to explore science, and she was given unfettered access to his workshop so she could do so to her heart's content. 

When she was a young woman she went to study art, learning painting, fine metal work, and needlework. Unfortunately, Jekyll’s eyesight declined to the extent that pursuing an artistic career in the way she originally intended to became impossible. Not one to give in and despair, she turned to gardening and decided to make landscapes into her canvases. Unable to keep sketchbooks because of her eyesight, she documented her garden design work, with photographs she took and developed herself. Her skill as a photographer was so great that she provided photographs for popular gardening guides. 

Most of Jekyll's gardens were created alongside her long term collaborator, architect Sir Edward Lutyens. He designed the house that she lived in until her death, and together they shaped Victorian ideas about garden design. Over the course of her lifetime Jekyll had a hand in the creation of over 400 gardens and wrote prolifically about horticulture. 

The herbaceous border is at the heart of Jekyll’s style. She mixed colours and textures like paints on a pallet,  creating borders that from afar drew the eye to them but were also fascinating to look at up close. 

By playing with colour and texture and making good use of traditional plants, like roses, lavender, and hostas anyone can add some of the magic of Jekyll’s gardens to their own outdoor space. And if you’re into container gardening you can get the same effect by planting a trough planter up using the same design principles. It's well worth giving it a try.