Garden Visits – Patchwork Gardens, York Museum

Garden inspiration from patchwork gardens, or to be more precise, from the delightful garden surrounding the Quilt Museum in York. A brief (too brief) visit to York and a long promised visit to myself to the Quilt Museum, where there was an exhibition on the history of patchwork.

Over the years I have made patchwork tablecloths, cushion covers, quilts, even a patchwork skirt! I’ve enjoyed choosing different fabrics to make sure they work together as a whole; but my efforts paled beside the gorgeous old and modern patchwork quilts and hangings on display in the museum. Patchwork was originally about re-using old clothes and scraps of fabric, in a thrifty way that appeals to the recycling culture we have today.

On one level, the creating of something new – a patchwork quilt for a wedding present, for example – from a mixture of elements is not unlike the creative process of designing a garden from a mix of existing features and plants that are to be retained and introducing new planting, a patio, fencing, pergola and a pond so that something new is created.

In this sense, many of the gardens designed and landscaped by Plews are patchwork gardens; it is not often that we, or any garden designer, gets a ‘blank canvas’. Gardens may have mature trees that should be kept; or attractive garden walls in good repair; it would be silly to not use such features in a new design.

But back to York and the garden surrounding the Quilt Museum. What did I find after a delightful wander through the history of patchwork? I found swathes of colour, drifts of soft tones blending like one of the two hundred year old patchwork quilts that can be found displayed within the Museum.

Then there was a sudden accent of a vibrant colour – red berries or purple flowers perhaps – to set off biscuity bronze of ornamental grasses.

The photographs should give you an idea of the mellow feel to this garden on a summer afternoon.

Sometimes patchwork gardens have issues that need to be resolved; in the York museum garden, perhaps it might be snails attacking the Hostas. In your garden, it may be an ugly building that looms across your view, or how to accommodate children, dogs, cats, guinea pigs and adults in a small space.

For most people, having the vision and the knowledge to see which elements of can be re-used as part of a new garden design or patchwork quilt can be difficult.

The demands of ensuring that the ‘new’ garden or bedspread should be complete, beautiful to behold and work in a practical way for the owners (or for yourself) can be overwhelming and costly. Now that is the challenge and pleasure for the garden designer to get right, so that patchwork gardens turn into heirloom pieces.

For further gardening advice and inspiration, check out Plews Potting Shed blogs, including the selection below and our monthly Tipsheet – You could come and find us on Instagram Pinterest and Facebook too.

If you would like help with learning more about your garden and gardening, why not ask about our bespoke Gardening Lessons, where your classroom is actually your own garden. We can help you learn gardening basics, and also show you how to plan an ornamental border or kitchen garden