MY GARDEN LIFE
Landscape architect Robert Myers on his imaginative designs
Robert Myers is known for his imaginative public spaces, such as the Magic Garden at Hampton Court Palace, and elegant private gardens. Here, he reveals his design secrets, his favourite plants and where he goes for inspiration
What inspired you to become a landscape architect?
My love of landscape prompted me to study Geography at Cambridge University and my mother is a garden historian and was always dragging the family around historic houses and gardens. But it wasn’t until after university that I stumbled on landscape architecture, almost by accident. I then took a two-year postgraduate diploma in Landscape Architecture at Birmingham City University and loved every minute.
How has your style evolved?
I don’t think I have a specific style and wouldn’t impose one on my clients, but I’ve always been drawn to simple, elegant designs, which are reflected in my work. My team and I respond to each individual brief, and increasingly we’re being asked to find ways to make our landscapes even more sustainable and to reduce their carbon footprint.
What does your garden look like?
We’ve inherited someone else’s design, which I like because it takes the pressure off me to produce one of my own. It’s a large plot in a Worcestershire village, and quite retro in style, packed with what some might think of as unfashionable plants like red rhododendrons and bright purple bergenias, but I think they’re quite fun. It also has a good structure with some lovely topiary, offering a great canvas to work on.
How can we introduce your style into our own gardens?
I often like to relate the layout of a garden to the structure of the house – for example, by picking up the rhythm of the windows or the curve of a bay window. I’ve sometimes used these patterns to create ‘grass parterres’, which are easy to make and look very effective. You simply carve out your design in the turf, install a metal or timber edge, and lay paving or gravel in between, just below soil level. You can then maintain it by mowing straight over the grass.
Which garden design techniques do you return to again and again?
I tend to always focus on views, either those we create using vistas and focal points to draw the eye within a garden; or, in country settings, we often use the ‘borrowed landscape’ of fields or woodlands that can be seen from the garden. It’s also important to include a sense of discovery and surprise so that everything isn’t revealed all at once.
What’s your favourite design trick for a small garden?
Look for the longest axis in the garden to increase the journey through it. This can be achieved by laying out your design on a diagonal, perhaps using a path or lawn, which tricks the eye into perceiving it as a larger space.
Which plant do you always include in your gardens?
My team always tease me about using Liriope muscari, which is a great little plant, especially for shady sites. When planted en masse, its evergreen foliage creates a textural carpet, and in autumn spikes of blue flowers appear, followed by black berries.
Which gardens inspire you?
I love Sissinghurst in Kent and the Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll garden at Hestercombe in Somerset. Both have strong architectural structure combined with the softness of the planting, which is a look we aim to achieve in our own designs.
Why are you returning to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year?
I designed six Chelsea gardens in a row from 2008 to 2013 and felt I needed a rest, but my team and I were ready for the challenge again. We’re very excited to be working with the Burdett Trust for Nursing who’ve asked us to create a garden to celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of Florence Nightingale and the work of nurses today. It couldn’t be more relevant and we’re hoping to create something really special to enthral the public. The garden will have a longer life, too, as it’s being relocated to Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London after the show.
What particularly excites you about Chelsea this year?
A September Chelsea is unprecedented, and I’m excited to be a part of this unique experience. For us, it has meant creating a new planting palette using autumn-flowering plants and grasses, and I think the whole event will be spectacular, with a completely different look to the May shows.
“OUR 2021 CHELSEA GARDEN IS INSPIRED BY FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE’S UNDERSTANDING
OF THE THERAPEUTIC POWER OF PLANTS”