Village Garden in June

Looking at the beautiful tapestry of plants, it is no surprise to discover that Gillian paints and embroiders. ‘Sometimes colours that I wouldn’t put together in a painting seem to go well in a planting scheme,’ she notes. When planning an area, Gillian tries to visualise the group of plants together, taking care to follow Beth Chatto’s advice about putting plants in the right place, so that they flourish. ‘I like soft pinks, purples and blues around the summerhouse because they are more relaxing for a seating area, whereas stimulating bright colours are good by the kitchen garden where we tend to work.’ Amongst the more exciting plant combinations are white foxgloves alongside Clematis ‘Lasurstern’, or pink phuopsis with the pinkish brown geum ‘Leonard’s Variety’