GARDEN PROFILE: Derek Jarman's English Garden
An inspirational garden from across the pond

During the last decade many suburbanites have given up their sprawling lawns and gardens, trading in their spades and shovels for hand trowels and cultivators. They have given up the hour plus commute for a ten-minute metro ride. The allure of having more time to live has drawn people to the many charming neighborhoods of Washington DC. However, the big compromise for gardeners making the switch is the loss of garden space. Even the largest lots of DC's single family homes cannot compare to the verdant sprawl of suburban yards.

On Capitol Hill, the creative ways that the lack of garden space can be conquered are always a hot topic. During a recent trip to England, I looked for gardens in London neighborhoods like Kensington for new inspiration to bring back to the Washington gardens I am often challenged to change and enhance. To my surprise, the ideas were strikingly similar. In fact, when working in a small rectangular space, or some slight variation thereof, the choices are pretty straightforward.  It was during a day trip to the last home of Derek Jarman that the light bulb went off.  Our gardens, no matter what size, should reflect our passions, joys, and interests. They must be an outward expression of who we are and what we enjoy. It is through the careful assessment of what is important to us that we can change even the most predictable place into a space of wonder and beauty that is original. 

Derek Jarman was a controversial and visionary British painter, writer and filmmaker; he produced many avant-garde films that focused on the less predictable complexities of human life. During his final years, he created the now famous garden, known as Prospect Cottage, in the shadow of the Dungeness nuclear power station.

Dungeness, (no relation to the Dungeness Crab), has one of the largest expanses of shingle in the world. Shingle is a stony seaside material and takes the place of sand on several English beaches.  The area is recognized and protected due to its conservation designations.  Dungeness is a national nature reserve, special protected area, and area of special conservation. There is a wide variety of wildlife and over 600 different types of plants in the Dungeness region.  Dungeness is also home to two nuclear power stations. The village is not truly a village but more a scattering of dwellings, some inhabited by the local fishermen and others owned as an escape for people wanting to get away from the pressures of the inland world.

In this place of harsh contrasts and untamed nature lies Prospect Cottage, one of the last artistic endeavors of a man whose life was spent trying to persuade people to think out of the preverbal box.

The cottage is painted black, with a poem written on one side in black lettering. The garden, while reflecting the bleak windswept landscape of the Dungeness peninsula, is uniquely alive. Mr. Jarman filled his garden with many found objects. Flint was collected and used as borders, a sundial was created using native stones set in two circles, pebbles, driftwood, and scraps of metal were used as ornaments and plant containers. The garden comes alive from early March with the arrival of the first crocus popping through the shingle and continues to erupt with uncanny precision throughout the season. There are house leeks, sedum, thrift, dianthus, saxifrage, campion, wallflower, purple iris, calendula, curry plant, rue, chamomile, columbine, Shirley poppy, and nasturnum, that bring forth a stark contrast to the nuclear power plants that are the backdrop to this unlikely garden.

When entering the village of Dungeness there is a sense of desolation and abandon. The environment is harsh at best, yet Derek Jarman's insightful ability to change such a broken landscape into an object of art can provide inspiration to even the most skeptical city transplants. The garden in many ways is a lasting tribute to the accomplishments that anyone can achieve, even in the most challenging settings. In Washington DC, in our Capitol Hill gardens, a little bit of creativity mixed with a dose of originality can achieve gardening nirvana in even the squarest of spaces. Enjoy!