The Selectors GARDENS

The Selectors GARDENS Andrew Darragh Head Gardener at The National Trust’s Fenton House in Hampstead, London nationaltrust.org.uk Selects: Great Dixter, East Sussex “When I worked at Kew Gardens, all the interns would come back from Great Dixter full of energy and creativity. I was inspired by their stories of clashing colours and breaking the rules. It sounded alien to me at Kew, where it was very scientific, putting things in order by family. When I came to Fenton as Head Gardener, I was like a child in a sweetshop, colouring in, mixing things up, pushing things a little further – and it was all from what I’d heard about Great Dixter. When I finally visited it, I loved Head Gardener Fergus Garrett’s sense of fun and creativity, the playfulness, the alluring soft romantic feeling in amongst the structure. It was also a bit like visiting Mona Lisa – for something that so many people put on a pedestal, it’s actually a little smaller than you imagine. It’s inspired me ever since. I always tell our volunteers to just try things. Once you know the basics, you can shake it up a little. If it doesn’t work, it’s not going to smash up the garden. We’ll try again next year. It’s about having a go.” greatdixter.co.uk PHOTO: FLO SMITH 8 / Jaguar Magazine Jaguar Magazine / 9