Creating a garden of beauty, softness & scent for botanical skincare brand owner

Landscape design by Caroline Hyett, Caroline Hyett Gardens & Design

This garden was designed for Georgina Nelson, the founder of the botanically scented skincare range, Myrtle & Moss.

With a homeowner who’s passionate about creating aromatic products for people to enjoy, it’s no surprise that she wanted her own garden to reflect the key principles of her brand – combining beauty, softness and scent.

The Brief

The timeless Victorian styled house on site had its own charm to it, and the owners wanted their garden to match its essence. The garden needed to be brought back to life and be a space that they, along with visitors, could take a journey through and spend as much time in as possible.

Though there were plenty of beautiful plantings and trees already in the garden, for the most part the design was overly structured and lacked a warmth and natural flow to it. The understory plantings of the mature trees on site needed to be rethought, including a new planting scheme that would ensure year-round interest.

Functional aspects such as the irrigation system needed to be repaired, and lighting features were to be introduced to help showcase the plantings in the evenings.

The Transformation

The focal point of the garden is a stunning pot sits at the centre of the newly built path. Seasonal perennials and succulents that can endure all seasons are combined in the pot, along with cascading plants that overhang to create a wild and overgrown feel to the feature.

Legacy trees were planted that will establish themselves in years to come.

The garden reaches its peak flowering from early summer through to autumn. The existing plantings, including Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem’, Malus ‘Crimson Knight’, Malus floribunda, and the spring beauty, Viburnum plicatum tomentosum, were retained. These were enhanced by adding layered plantings such as Veronica hybrid ‘Purpleicious’, Salvia leucantha ‘Velour White’ and Hydrangea paniculata ‘Diamond Rouge’.

Design features introduced to the space include the aforementioned pathway made of natural Endicott stone pavers, selected for their colour. This path invites visitors to journey from the street to the home. Additionally, lighting has been incorporated throughout the garden to enhance its ambiance during the evenings.

The Result

This garden hits the mark, with beauty, foliage and scent present throughout the entirety of the space. The homeowner, Georgina, has rekindled her love for the garden, spending more time tending to it and picking flowering blooms to decorate their home and promote her business, Myrtle & Moss.

The garden is well-loved by the community, with people pausing to appreciate its beauty. It has also become a sanctuary for wildlife, drawing in birds and bees that now thrive in the space.