Quick Takes With: Butter Wakefield

Let us count the many reasons we love Butter Wakefield, the Maryland-born, London-based garden designer who has won numerous prestigious awards for her exuberant projects (twice at the Chelsea Flower Show!). 1) She has no fear of color (her home is as bright and joyful as her gardens). 2) No outdoor space is too tiny for her—in fact, small city backyards are her forte. 3) She designs gardens as one would design interiors, that is, with attention to texture, palette, balance, and comfort. 4) Then, of course, there’s that ridiculously charming name (a childhood moniker that has blessedly stuck). Is there any question we’d be fans?

Read on to learn the pros who inspire her (it’s a who’s who of British designers), the dreamy garden object on her wish list, and best of all, images of her own compact West London backyard. And if you find yourself wanting still more Butter in your life, be sure to sign up for her just-launched online course on “Small Garden Design” with the Create Academy.

Photography courtesy of Create Academy.

Your first garden memory:

My maternal grandfather had the most spectacular gardens in the gorgeous countryside outside of Philadelphia. They were gloriously flower-filled and curiously very English in style and design. I loved wandering around and through them as a girl, and loved the colour-rich tapestry he created.

Garden-related book you return to time and again:

I am an enormous fan of Arne Maynard; his beautiful work and style of design really resonates with me. Garden Design Details and The Gardens of Arne Maynard are two books I refer to often. I also adore the recent book by Sarah Raven called A Year Full of Pots, which is a thorough and thoughtful guide to creating beautiful pots throughout the year. [See 5 Tips to Try from ‘A Year Full of Pots,’ Sarah Raven’s New Book.]

Instagram account that inspires you:

@ritakonig, @danielpieckielonslowik, @lucindachambers, @tessnewallstudio, @skyemcalpine, @shaneconnollyandco, @robinlucas—all inspire me hugely. They are wildly creative and unique in every way.

Describe in three words your garden aesthetic.

Purposeful, considered, and unique.

Plant that makes you swoon:

Rosa ‘Dainty Bess’, Origanum ‘Rosenkuppel’, Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’, and Helleborus ‘Double Ellen Green Picotee’.

Plant that makes you want to run the other way:

Aucuba japonica ‘Crotonifolia’ (Japanese spotted laurel).

Favorite go-to plant:

Alchemilla mollis.

Every garden needs a…

…at least one tree!

Hardest gardening lesson you’ve learned:

Working for friends is often so much more difficult than one ever imagines.

Favorite gardening hack:

Plunging small pots in large buckets of water through out the summer, it’s the quickest best way to water them.

Favorite way to bring the outdoors in.

Growing a range of reliable cut flowers in pots is something I always try to include in every scheme. It’s a hugely joyful undertaking to step outside, cut flowers and bring fresh blooms indoors. It is certianly my favourite way to start the weekend.

Favorite hardscaping material:

Vande Moortel bricks and reclaimed York stone.

Tool you can’t live without:

Niwaki gardening gloves.

Go-to gardening outfit:

Waterproof trousers and ankle muck boots

Favorite nursery, plant shop, or seed company:

Deepdale Trees. Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants. Howe Green Nurseries. ALMA | PROUST seeds.

On your wishlist:

An Alitex Greenhouse.

Not-to-be-missed public garden/park/botanical garden:

Edinburgh Botanical Gardens and Kew (of course).

The REAL reason you garden:

Because it soothes my soul and I love it!

Thank you, Butter! (You can follow her on Instagram @butterwakefield.)