Beneath a Mexican Sky Garden

Manoj was born in Kenya and trained as a fashion designer, working in the industry for nearly twenty years, before retraining in Garden design and now fulfilling his dream to design a show garden at Chelsea.

The Inland Homes: Beneath a Mexican Sky garden was inspired by the work of Mexican architect Luis Barragan whose dramatic use of colour and form resonated with Manoj’s love of bold, contrasting colours and textures.

The colours are also contrasted by the soothing use of silvery blue green foliage in the Agave parryi  var truncata  as well as the velvety heart shaped leaves of the multi-stemmed Kalanchoe behariensis tree, seen for the first time at Chelsea in Manoj’s Inland Homes: Beneath a Mexican Sky garden.

A beautiful evergreen drought tolerant multi-stemmed strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo, gives some welcome shade and its slightly peeling orangey red bark adds textural interest to the planting. The tree has edible fruit used to make jams and liqueurs such as the Portuguese brandy medronho.  It’s delicate flowers are loved by bees so it is much used for honey production, making honey with a distinct flavour.

Colour is in plentiful supply in this garden. Manoj has used beautiful purple bearded Iris 'Modern Woman' and Iris 'Serene Moment'  as well as Cleome hassleriana Violet Queen and hard to find orange Cosmos sulphureus with striking chocolate Cosmos astrosanguineus that really does have the scent of chocolate.

Manoj has deliberately included flowers that can be grown for cutting in his garden as he loves to use beautiful arrangements to create an extension of the garden inside the house. His favourites are the Gaura lindheimeri 'Rosy Jane', and Gaura lindheimeri 'Sisikiyou Pink', the purple bearded Iris 'Modern Woman' and Iris 'Serene Moment', orange Cosmos sulphureus with striking chocolate Cosmos astrosanguineus and Anigozanthos 'Big Red'.

Plant list

Trees

Shrubs

Grasses

Herbaceous perennials

Annuals & Biennials

Cacti & Succulents

Photos of Manoj's garden are by Jonathan Buckley