She had trained as an artist and when she changed careers from painter to garden designer she used that experience to inform her use of colour.
In contrast to Victorian gardens which were often very formal, regimented and whose main season of interest was the summer, Miss Jekyll used plants to work in harmony with, but soften, the architecture and hard landscaping and provide interest throughout the seasons.
There are few complete and original Jekyll gardens left but one such is that at Upton Grey Manor in Hampshire. Starting in 1984, Rosamund and John Wallinger faithfully restored its nearly 5 acres, which still retained the original layout, using Miss Jekyll’s 1908 planting plans.
