Olivia speaks to Harriet Thistelwayte who is known as Yomargey on Instagram. Harriet lives in Herefordshire and has a gorgeous country house and garden complete with a victorian glasshouse. Harriets instagram is gorgeous with all her original photography. The compositions, colours and light caught with her camera make for an incredibly pleasing account.
Harriet is wearing a Garden Kimono in the dead-stock Corduroy in Juniper Green. The fabric for this kimono was from Merchant and Mills dead-stock sale and is a strong corduroy in a deep shade of dark green. The lined Garden Kimonos have all the features of the original kimono with pockets, magnet patch and tool loops for all your gardening needs.
Check out Harriets beautiful instagram account here.
Shop The Garden Kimonos here.
Please give me a little description of your garden and your favourite thing about it?
Our home is situated at the bottom of a valley in the Herefordshire countryside. Surrounded by farmland and a large wood at the top of the hill behind the house, it feels very rural, and except for the rumbling of the odd tractor very quiet. The garden, which surrounds the house is very much a relaxed informal space with a strong connection to the countryside around it. That is my aim, at least and definitely a work in progress and very different to the much more formal space that was here when we moved in twelve years ago. My parents who were living here had created a beautiful garden, but which by that time had seen better days and become far too much work for them. My task was to bring it back to life in a way that aligned with my personal vision and that was manageable with the time I had available to work outside. It has slowly become a more simplified space, one in which inspires and nourishes me rather than overwhelming me with a task list.
My favourite part of the garden is the daisy meadow that we started growing five years ago, it looks absolutely beautiful from late May and throughout the summer and requires very little maintenance, my sort of gardening! I also love the Victorian glasshouse which is outside the kitchen in which we grow dessert grapes and a fig tree. Here I can have spring bulbs a flowering a month before the ones outdoors and then I fill it with pelargoniums in the summer. There is a large table in here where we eat on warm evenings, the scene of so many happy family occasions.
What is your garden playlist?
When I’m working outside I like to listen to the natural sounds around me and immerse myself in those, my preferred soundtrack. If we are eating in the greenhouse, I love to have jazz playing softly in the background. Melody Gardot is a favourite artist, along with Madeleine Peyroux.
Whats a typical day in the garden like for you?
From late February onwards the first thing I do every day is walk up to the greenhouse at the top of the garden to see what has changed overnight. It’s one of my favourite times of day, often before the rest of the house has stirred, cup of tea in hand, with the happy anticipation of what I might find. Sometimes growth is measured in millimetres, but still, it is slightly different every day. Later in the morning I might spend some time sowing seeds or potting up seedlings. In the afternoon I usually work in the borders, tidying, pruning and raking up. My husband and I often discuss our day as we walk around together in the early evening, before shutting the greenhouse windows and doors, which signals the end of the garden day.
Favourite garden snack?
My very favourite thing to eat in the garden is a ripe tomato fresh off the vine. There really is nothing better, they are the taste of summer for me.
What would be the dream addition to your garden?
The biggest change that we have had to deal with in recent years is the deer that come down from the wood behind the house to feast in the garden. I have had to change almost completely the type of plants I grow, no more tulips or roses, which is sad but I try to see it as an interesting challenge. We now have a fenced-in area to grow vegetables, but unfortunately it is not realistic to fence in the entire garden however attractive that idea might be. So if I were to choose a dream addition to the garden it would probably a deer proof fence!
Thank you to Harriet for taking part in the Kimono My Garden interview and for taking such lovely photos.
