Jinny Blom's interview: a palette inspired by nature

The Mylands x Jinny Blom collection features 12 tones, inspired by Jinny’s own experience of the outdoors, her special bond with nature and her unique talent to landscape gardens with a natural feel.

Blom launched her London based landscape design practice in 2000 and has since curated gardens and large estates all over the world, having designed several Chelsea Flower Show Gardens, winning Gold in 2007.

In Conversation With Jinny Blom

When and how did you decide to become a landscape gardener?

I had reached a plateau in my previous career as a psychologist and felt drawn to landscaping as I felt it made the greatest impact on how we can improve our health, the health of those around us and the world in general.

What would you define as your landscaping style? 

Adaptable. Landscape design is all about circumstance. 

How do you approach colours when you start working on a project?

Colours are typically drawn from the land and the local materiality. In a city there is a lot of freedom yet in the wider countryside, wherever on earth it might be, it is definitely driven by the tonality of he landscape and the weather. 

What are your first steps when it comes to conceptualising a garden?

Consider what is already there and what its value is. For example on one project the most valuable item was a very old and gnarled fruit tree with the most amazing shape, smothered in lichen. It had a great deal of the design due to its fragility and age, so it is now a focal point in a new garden.

Leading British Gardener, Jinny Blom
Image Credit: Britt Willoughby Dyer

Do you always start with the same plant? 

No, never - every garden is completely different in texture and mood so the plants change considerably with each circumstance. It's what makes creating gardens so exciting.

What has been your most memorable project to date?

I usually don't have favourites as a rule, however working in Kenya in the Rift Valley was amazing. A huge conservation project. I’d never seen elephants, giraffes, zebras and lions up close before. Humbling.

How far ahead do you work when designing a new garden and how much planning time do you take?

It takes a calendar year to design a garden and often several month, or years, to build one. After which they take 3-5 years to really settle into their skin. 

What is important about designing a garden so it can be enjoyed all year round?

It's important to track the movement of the sun and create places, either in sun or shade, that are comfortable to be in. This often informs how a design develops. And beyond that there is the pleasure of finding plants for every season. In the UK there is never a month without something blooming.

You often work in expansive spaces, but how do you approach these smaller spaces and what do you advise for people who are starting a small garden at home?

I have a relatively small garden myself, so this is a subject close to me. It is important to make the most of every centimetre of space. My top tip is don’t waste space on the lawn. 

How do you take nature and wildlife into consideration when designing a project? 

Wildlife is at the heart of all our work. And to be honest, it would be a bad garden if it didn’t make provision for other species.

You designed several therapeutic and healing garden spaces, what should a garden design integrate to have a healing power? 

At a basic level, a therapeutic garden needs to understand who will use it. If it is people with physical health issues it needs to allow for easy access of hospital beds and wheelchairs. People need to be able to sit comfortably and safely. A sense of protection and security is paramount for people who feel vulnerable. Water is always nice as it draws wildlife in. 

About The Collection 

What made you want to do a colour collection and how did you have the idea to create one for the outdoors?

I was struggling to find the types of colours I need for outside. In the mediterranean there are clear colour palettes that are well known yet they don’t always work for the soft light and watery skies of the British Isles. I also wanted to work with paints that have high levels of pigment and a beautiful solid quality, like a gouache. So I developed the idea that if you can’t find what you want, you should make it.

Was Blomster JB01 the first colour to be created and then the collection was built around it?

Perhaps it was. I knew I wanted a very specific red and that’s exactly what Blomster JB.01 is. I was warned against red several times, yet I love it in a landscape setting, either as an accent or as a whole building. It’s a wonderful spark of life.

What was the most challenging element in developing the collection? 

In some ways creating the colours was the easy part - the harder aspect was finding a way to make them real. I definitely wanted these to be a real colour collection. Thankfully Dominic Myland was open to this and the rest has all fallen into place beautifully.

“Colour is a particular love of mine and I'd long wanted to create my own palette, as there are certain tones I need again and again to support my landscape designs. Mylands has an exceptional understanding of colours as a mood-altering background, so in that we share a common language. The paint quality is second to none.” - Jinny Blom