Blessed with a childhood nickname that stuck, garden designer Butter Wakefield practices her craft with fine strokes of vivid color, like an artist wielding a brush. The American-born designer grew up in a family of horticultural enthusiasts on a small farm outside of Baltimore, Maryland; after college, she landed at Christie’s auction house in New York City, where her love of all things beautiful began. She later married an Englishman, moved to London, and found employment at the great British decorating firm Colefax and Fowler, where, she recalls, “I really started to understand texture and scale and color and pattern.” In a five-bedroom Victorian house located near Ravenscourt Park in London, she raised four children with her now ex-husband. “Having spent a lot of time thinking about the inside of the house, it occurred to me that the garden needed just as much attention,” she says. “And so the seed was sown.”
The back door surround was added for architectural interest and painted in Farrow & Ball’s Down Pipe.
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In a secret corner of the garden, the potting table holds apple crates full of wildflowers; Wakefield added the round mirror.
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“I like a tangle of flowers and texture so you are surrounded by scent and bloom and foliage and climbing plants” says Wakefield.
Simon BrownWakefield now runs her own flourishing garden design business, favoring a more traditional style when it comes to her work. “I love very flowery designs, but they must have structure,” she explains. “Within the solid shapes, I like a tangle of flowers and texture so you are surrounded by scent and bloom and foliage and climbing plants.” Sustainability also plays a role: Wakefield incorporates plants that attract pollinators and uses reclaimed materials whenever possible.
A green velvet daybed offers a comfortable place to relax in the glass-topped conservatory.
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The cheerful bathroom is decorated with Blithfield’s Small Medallion wallpaper, majolica plates, and sprigs of chocolate cosmos.
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In the kitchen, dahlias in bud vases and black-and-white Staffordshire dogs are arranged in front of a landscape painting by Sarah Bowman.
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Brightly colored dahlias from Floriston Flower Farm complement the vivid hues in an Eardley Knollys painting.
Simon BrownAt her own home, the glories of the garden move indoors with arrangements of cut flowers that include seasonal delights like daffodils, tulips, roses, cosmos, and dahlias. The interiors are a comfortable combination of soft, brightly hued upholstered furniture arranged with art, heirlooms, and collected objects. (“I am not color averse,” she deadpans in an obvious understatement. “The more color the better. It brings me enormous pleasure.”) Texture, scale, and pattern are mixed and refined, creating a magical world inside and out.
A collection of vases by Richard Pomeroy from Thyme centers an eclectic tablescape ensemble with plates and placemats by Wicklewood and napkins by Villa Bologna.
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Garden-grown cosmos fill an antique lustreware mug on a vintage Colefax & Fowler tray. The wallpaper is Floral Trail by Salvesen Graham.
Simon BrownTHIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN VOLUME 13 OF FREDERIC MAGAZINE. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE!
