SHINGLE STYLE
Why not add a dash of Dungeness to your garden with Mini Moderns’ new packets of wildflower seeds inspired by that windswept corner of the Kent coast
The shingle beach of Dungeness on the Kent coast has a remote, other-worldly feel. Along with Dorset’s Chesil Beach, it is one of the finest examples of a flint shingle bank in the world. Vast, windswept and flat, it’s the shoreline of Romney Marsh and the site of Dungeness B nuclear power station, whose hulking carapace interrupts the vista. The beach is strewn with small and quirky homes: weatherboarded fishermen’s cottages, old beach houses and converted railway carriages from the days when a branch line ran from Appledore to this bit of coast.
In 1986, Dungeness became the home of film-maker Derek Jarman when he bought Prospect Cottage, a Victorian fisherman’s hut. He came across it after taking a detour from location hunting to have fish and chips at The Pilot Inn on the beach. Seeing that a black weatherboarded house with yellow window frames was up for sale he made an offer on the spot, living there for eight years before his untimely death in 1994.
These Dungeness years were not wasted. Jarman – taking inspiration from the location and its elements – created a highly original shingle garden at Prospect Cottage. His starting point was an old flint, like a dragon’s tooth, that he found on the beach and which led to him make a series of small stone circles around the cottage. Slowly, he added beach-find sculptures of metal and driftwood, and popped a range of plants into little pockets of manure to help them thrive. Clumps of native viper’s bugloss and sea kale were joined by herbs
‘DEREK JARMAN’S starting point was an OLD FLINT, like
a DRAGON’S TOOTH, that he found ON THE BEACH’
verbena, borage, lavender and valerian. He planted old roses, a fig tree and vegetable beds. With perseverance and imagination, he coaxed a beautiful garden from the gleaming shingle.
For decades the beach at Dungeness has drawn artists and creatives. In 2012, Keith Stephenson and Mark Hampshire, founders of Mini Moderns design studio, made their way there too. They spent a year converting a railway carriage and planting a shingle garden inspired by Prospect Cottage. As Manchester Art Gallery prepares to mount a retrospective of Jarman’s art, Mini Moderns is collaborating with the gallery on a series of 10 flower seeds, all found wild on the beach or in Jarman’s garden. ‘We wanted to reflect the way Dungeness changes through the seasons as wild flowers appear. In June, the air is heady with the honey scent of flowering sea kale, while the whole point turns blue in July when viper’s bugloss blooms,’ the designers say. From yellow horned poppies to sea campion to wild carrot, the Dungeness look is now just a seed tray away – whether you live by the sea or not.