01 August 2022
Garden trends: Designer Jo Thompson reveals what is bright and beautiful in 2022
6 minutes
RHS Chelsea gold medal-winning Jo Thompson’s trademark relaxed, romantic planting alongside signature seating, sculpture and water features attracts clients from across the world, including actress Cate Blanchett, TV presenter Davina McCall, singer George Ezra, hairstylist Sam Knight and author Justine Picardie. Here she shares this year’s garden trends and recommendations on how to develop a garden to suit a family’s needs with Private Clients Director Julie Webb.
One of the most important parts of my job is to sit down with clients, often over several cups of coffee, to work out exactly what they need, and want, from their garden – and that means understanding how the family lives.
The garden needs to work for them and with nature, so before working on a design and planting plan for any size garden, I always ask:
What do they want from their outside space?
Will they need help maintaining the garden or are they experienced, hands-on gardeners?
Is this their permanent home and garden?
I always recommend they first consider their surroundings, so the new-look garden complements its location and the garden becomes an extension of the home.
It is a really good feeling to regenerate spaces – we have a commitment to our planet and I encourage the most sustainable approach, working with the existing biodiversity and helping to improve it as an integral part of every planting design.
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Thankfully, everyone is now far more in tune with the environment and understands the importance of looking after water, so rainwater harvesting is always an important part of my designs. Sometimes I discover natural materials on site to re-use or I am inspired by the form and colours of the garden, again ensuring that the eventual landscape truly deserves its existence. I’m thinking about plants and planting constantly. A healthy obsession… Gardens and their design are always evolving, but during any period in time trends emerge and at the moment these include: Multi-use spacesSince the pandemic, people have come to appreciate and use their gardens far more and there’s a definite shift away from designated, built-in seating areas towards multi-use spaces to make the most of the garden. I endeavour to make a feature do more than one thing. For instance, one London client’s wish-list included a water feature and a play area. I had to come up with a safe solution for the family, so we incorporated jets to create a fun water sculpture and avoided the hazards of a pond or stream. Eating areas now mean three tables; one for birds, one for pollinators and one for humans! No-mow lawnsWhen BBC presenter Chris Packham talked to me about my BBC Springwatch Garden’s clover lawn at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show in 2019, it felt as if we were on the verge of a lawn revolution. It was heaven for pollinators! I am not saying NO lawn because it is still useful for play, leisure (and dogs), but when a clover lawn is in flower it becomes a bee paradise and a visual green treat in July. |
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Wildflower meadows or patches are quite wonderful, but I always advise clients that plenty of patience is required as these simple-looking areas dotted with cornflowers, wild orchids and daisies can take several years to establish themselves, although the rewards can be worth every minute of the wait. Every garden needs a bench I also love working with skilled craftsmen to create the design. The London Square Garden seating at RHS Chelsea in 2014 started with me waving and swooshing my arms about trying to explain to a long-suffering hot metal engineer what I had in mind! The wiggly sculptural bench was born and – it scooted you around and through and over… Such unique garden elements can’t be built without experts – outstanding in their absolute dedication and ability to bring to life a concept that shouldn’t really work! The return of bordersA relaxed style with naturalistic, romantic planting has always been my mantra, so the return of soft borders is very pleasing. Rivers of swirling grasses have been hugely popular for some years but now people have fallen back in love with the wonder of classic shrub borders containing roses (see next trend), philadelphus, hydrangeas and amaranthus – perennials with year-round interest. |
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It is not farewell to grasses because using just a few offers some breaks for the eye and a sense of mellowness in the border. Return of rosesRoses never really went away but they are now back big time, not only for their beauty but for their perfume, long life and resilience. I don’t water roses that are in the ground but encourage them to send their roots deeper into the soil in search of moisture. I have dozens of roses in my East Sussex garden and here are a few favourites to consider: For shade, Macmillan Nurse pumps out exquisite creamy-white-to-palest-pink flowers from May and can go through the whole summer. Princess Alexandra of Kent, with huge pink flowers, can also survive without too much sun. For borders, where do I start? I used Hot Chocolate at RHS Chelsea in 2010 – with its orange-mahogany blooms and shiny leaves it sat happily against the glossy, flaky bark of the Tibetan Cherry, tall purple verbena bonariensis and decorative cow parsley Ravenswing. |
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For cutting, creamy white, Claire Austin and Crème de la Crème are both excellent with tightly packed petals. Apricot Queen of Sweden is an absolute winner that fades to pink as well as Emily Bronte, a soft pink apricot that fades to cream. Pink Constance Spry has magnificent, deeply cupped, mid-pink blooms while Gertrude Jekyll glows a stunning bright pink. Calling in a designerTo transform a garden, commissioning a designer is no longer for the landed gentry. Small city rooftop gardens through to suburban and country cottage gardens are being revised by their owners. Remember to choose a designer you get on with and who you feel you could easily work with over the years. Vitally, choose a designer who gardens. They don’t need to have their own enormous estate – I know some excellent designers who garden in the tiniest of spots, but they really do need to know their plants. Insuring your gardenA garden is a sanctuary, yet it is safe to guess that not everyone considers the need for insurance. Most insurers automatically provide a small amount of cover for plants, trees and shrubs within a home insurance policy, but check the levels of cover provided by your policy versus the overall cost and replacement of your plants. Specialist items such as statues, sculptures and other garden antiques should be treated as fine art and not simply included under the general contents figure. In this article we focus on what in your garden should be insured: Reviewing Your Home Insurance cover – Your garden and you can read here how to protect your garden from theft. To speak to us about the insurance you have in place for your home and garden, please call 020 8256 4901, or email privateclients@astonlark.com Looking for inspiration? You can also see some of our favourite gardens to explore should you be looking to add a new piece of sculpture to your garden. Inspiration to put garden sculpture in the spotlight. |
About Jo ThompsonListed by House & Garden and Country Life magazines as one of the country’s top 10 garden designers and plantswomen, Jo has been the recipient of four Gold and five Silver Gilt medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and in 2017 she won the People’s Choice award at the first RHS Chatsworth Flower Show. She is a member of the RHS Gardens Committee and Garden Advisor for RHS Rosemoor, an RHS judge, as well as being a member of the RHS Show Gardens Selection Panel. She lectures both nationally and internationally and is a visiting tutor at the London College of Garden Design. |
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