{"id":23266,"date":"2023-06-11T10:26:29","date_gmt":"2023-06-11T08:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gardensillustrated.com\/?p=19825"},"modified":"2023-06-13T15:34:55","modified_gmt":"2023-06-13T13:34:55","slug":"a-james-basson-designed-dry-garden-in-the-south-of-france","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/rss_feed\/a-james-basson-designed-dry-garden-in-the-south-of-france\/","title":{"rendered":"A James Basson designed dry garden in the South of France"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guided by his expert knowledge of plants suited to a dry climate, designer James Basson has created a rich and textural garden on the French Riviera. Photographs Claire Takacs <\/p>

By Tim Richardson\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 11 June 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

James Basson<\/a> is a designer best known to British garden-style watchers as the winner of the best in show award at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show <\/a>in 2017. That is because nearly all of his work to date has been achieved on the French Riviera, where he is based. James and his wife, Helen, moved to the area and set up a practice in 2000, and have very much made it their home. Neither has French lineage, though James spent time during his school holidays in Monaco, where his family had moved when he was 13. Helen plays a key role in the practice, Scape Design, and is equally credited for the work, though it is James who takes the creative and horticultural lead.<\/p>\n

At a small private garden in the foothills of the Alpes-Maritime overlooking the coast at Villefranche-sur-Mer near Nice, James has been honing, since 2009, a planting system that is suited to the climate, and which needs no irrigation. He is realistic about its limitations: \u201cIn the end you just can\u2019t have flowers if you\u2019re not going to water.\u201d Instead, he has formulated a look inspired by the botanical discoveries of his mentor, Olivier Filippi<\/a>, the French nurseryman based near Montpellier. \u201cOlivier taught me how to plant a landscape,\u201d James says. \u201cMy technical approach is based on the model of his nursery. It means that gardens in this climate can exist for more than just three months of the year.\u201d This is a philosophy of gardening that embraces the idea that the garden will \u2018dry out\u2019 in summer.<\/a> Read more about James\u2019 dry garden below.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss our piece on the best drought tolerant plants.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\""James\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Claire Takacs <\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

James Basson\u2019s stylised garrigue plantings include the aromatic, white-flowered Coleonema album<\/em> (foreground) and behind it, Phlomis cypria<\/em> (right) and Phlomis<\/em> x cytherea<\/em> (left). Tall, branched Asphodelus aestivus<\/em> rear up beyond, for height variation.<\/p>\n

\""James\"<\/picture><\/div>
James Basson designed garden on the French Riviera<\/span> <\/figcaption> \u00a9 Claire Takacs <\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""James\"<\/picture><\/div>
<\/figcaption> \u00a9 Claire Takacs <\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""James\"<\/picture><\/div>
<\/figcaption> \u00a9 Claire Takacs <\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""James\"<\/picture><\/div>
<\/figcaption> \u00a9 Claire Takacs <\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""James\"<\/picture><\/div>
<\/figcaption> \u00a9 Claire Takacs <\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
\""James\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Claire Takacs <\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

The garden\u2019s boundaries are blurred\u00a0 to create the impression of extra space. Rambler roses have been planted on the fence line just beyond the pool edge, with pines and olives beyond.<\/p>\n

\""James\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Claire Takacs <\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

In the lower part of the garden, at the foot of the terraces, the components of James\u2019s carefully balanced planting scheme \u2013 all set in a gravel mulch \u2013 can be appreciated. Pink-flowered Cistus<\/em> x purpureus\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0has a dominant presence in early summer, though James notes that \u201cthen they dissolve back into the landscape to provide a muted tone to other plants, and are ever present on the air in the summer as the heat releases the oils on their leaves\u201d. The architectural quality of the evergreen leaves of Iris unguicularis<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0is also valued. A line of rosemary, now known as Salvia rosmarinus<\/em>, forms a long, snaking \u2018hedge\u2019 across the garden, creating a subtle sense of structure. It also provides the darkest leaf tone, against which lighter colours, such as the pale-toned Ballota pseudodictamnus<\/em>, can be placed. This sub-shrub says James is \u201ca brilliant plant, quick to establish and relatively long lived \u2013 a useful plant to create a quick dominant vegetation, though in wetter climates it may not live as long or grow as quickly\u201d. It also stands out against the crinkly leaves of clary sage, Salvia sclarea<\/em>, that presage its flowers, and which are especially appreciated when dried and backlit by the sun. Hidden away next to this is Origanum majorana<\/em> var. tenuifolium<\/em>, which is useful for its late flowers. Soft yellow tones are contributed by Salvia greggii<\/em> \u2018Alba\u2019, while there is dusty purple from Lavandula<\/em> x heterophylla<\/em> \u2018African Pride\u2019, a resilient cultivar in James\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\""James\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Claire Takacs <\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

The terrace walls follow the natural contours and lead the eye on to the coastal vista. The upper terraces are dominated by the acid tones of Euphorbia rigida<\/em> with clumps of Iris unguicularis<\/em>. Lower down, a hedge of rosemary creates structure among mound-forming plants, such as Lavandula<\/em> x heterophylla<\/em> \u2018African Pride\u2019 and Salvia sclarea.<\/em><\/p>\n

\""James\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Claire Takacs <\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

An olive tree provides welcome shade in the lower part of the garden, with stepping stones carving a path through plantings that include Cistus salvifolius<\/em> (lower right), Anisodontea malvastroides<\/em> (the shrub with small, pink mallow flowers to the left of the path) and (background, right) the tree spurge, Euphorbia dendroides<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Find out more about Scape Design\u2019s work at scapedesign.com\/en<\/a><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss our piece on the best drought tolerant plants from James\u2019 garden designs.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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