Amanda
the delights of fading flowers
When I was an impoverished art student, I took to painting dead flowers. I don’t think it was the fact that I couldn’t often afford to replace any flowers I bought that led me to paint them, more that there was some intrinsic beauty in them that captivated me. This painting (below) was one of [...]
contemporary cottage garden design near Sherborne
For many years I’ve admired a very pretty thatched cottage that’s on a small lane I occasionally use, so was particularly delighted when the new owners asked me to look at the garden for them! I think they were quite pleased that I not only knew their house but (in the nicest possible way) have coveted it for some [...]
Tuscan inspiration
I’ve just come back, somewhat reluctantly it has to be admitted, from a couple of weeks in Tuscany. As ever when travelling (and one of my main reasons to travel), I come back inspired by new scenery, new architecture, quirky details and, in this case, some truly awe-inspiring paintings and sculpture. It was also lovely [...]
20th century garden design in Dorset and Somerset
A week ago I had just come back from leading a tour of West Country gardens for Martin Randall Travel. I had given the tour the theme of 20th century garden designers, exploring a range of gardens from early Arts and Crafts (Athelhampton) through to two contemporary private gardens by Arabella Lennox Boyd and Dan Pearson. Christopher [...]
Cothay Manor, Somerset garden
I recently re-visited the garden at Cothay Manor in Somerset, as I am leading a tour of West Country gardens in a few weeks time for Martin Randall Travel www.martinrandall.com and wanted to see if there were changes I should be prepared for! The tour is focusing on 20th century gardens, ‘from Jekyll to Pearson’, and [...]
Chelsea Flower Show 2010
Anyone who might think that gardens develop too slowly, or last too long, to be affected by the vagaries of fashion need only visit the Chelsea Flower Show for a few consecutive years to realise just how much these gardens both set and reflect the trends of our times. A few years ago, the gardens were [...]
Chelsea Flower Show 2010 build-up and Press Day
I’m incredibly fortunate in being able to spend a couple of days at the Chelsea Flower Show each year. I love the atmosphere during build-up with its mix of nerves, exhaustion, adrenaline and steely determination to create perfection against tough odds. This year, not surprisingly, it’s been the weather that has been the main topic [...]
“I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers” Claude Monet
Call me an old romantic but I’m a bit of a sucker for tulips. I love the way they are transformed from tight bud to over-the-top bloom, with an intensity and depth of colour almost unparalleled in the plant world. It’s no wonder so many painters love them, though it’s not easy to capture the luminescence and silkiness [...]
new drive and entrance, Dorset
I was asked to design the front entrance area and drive for this delightful Arts and Crafts house in Dorset. As you can see from the ‘before’ photo (below), the original entrance was a steep tarmac drive, with a metre height difference between the left and right sides of the house, which ‘featured’ a slightly bizarre oval [...]
The 2010 Great Garden Trail
I was in London yesterday at the garden I designed in Bow http://www.amandapatton.co.uk/portfolio/bow/ which was open to the public under the Great London Garden Trail. This was rather an unusual garden opening, in that the Trail featured just 10 gardens, each of which had been professionally designed by a Registered Member of the Society of Garden Designers. As [...]