The Thomas Gainsborough Garden

The garden

The concept is inspired by the garden at Gainsborough’s House and the artist’s work. It is a living canvas of Gainsborough’s cultural landscape. His paintings have informed the garden’s naturalistic, romantic perimeters. His use of chiaroscuro (an Italian term which translates as light-dark) has been used to create visual layers. The artist’s attention to fabric, texture and colour has influenced the planting colour palette.

Garden features reference garden elements at Gainsborough’s House. Limewashed walls recall Suffolk buildings and the colour of the property’s garden elevation. A garden studio creates an artist’s working space. Two golden yew trees echo the two sentinels in the garden. A famous 400 year old Mulberry Tree at the garden is represented by a smaller specimen. A reflective pool reflects the East Anglian sky. Gainsborough’s portraits, backgrounds and landscapes inspire features and planting.

The planting

The stylised copse of Acer campestre, Betula pendula, Crataegus monogyna and Fagus sylvatica reference the Suffolk landscapes painted by Gainsborough. The predominance of roses in the ornamental planting echo the floral details of his portraits. The colour scheme has been inspired by selected Gainsborough society portraits.

Key plants:

• Morus alba: recalls the 400 year old tree at Gainsborough House

• Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata aureomarginata’: replicates the pair at Gainsborough House

• Roses and dahlias: recreate colourways found in selected portraits

• Betula pendula:  recalls the wispy background trees in Gainsborough’s paintings

Plants supplied by: Practical Plants Ltd, Elveden Hedges, David Austin Roses, Dahlia Addiction 

Additional thanks: Garden studio supplied by Malvern Garden Buildings. Urn donated by Haddonstone. Reflective pool donated by Adezz.

Sustainability notes

The planting follows the principle of ‘right plant, right place’. Materials are all sustainably sourced.

About the designer – Frederic Whyte

Frederic is an award-winning landscape designer, horticulturist and writer. Renowned for blending formality and naturalistic beauty, Frederic creates structured, elegant layouts softened by curated planting schemes that blend painterly effects and horticultural rigour. Living between the UK and Italy, Frederic’s portfolio includes projects in both countries 
 
Frederic graduated from The English Gardening School at The Chelsea Physic Garden in 2009. Since then, he has gone on to win numerous awards at both RHS Chelsea and Hampton Court Palace Flower Shows.

The garden legacy

Elements of the garden will be repurposed in various locations or returned to supporters and nurseries.