Helen and Richard Thomas English Walled Garden
Horticulturist: Heather Sherwood

What’s behind the design:
When I begin my designs, I like to daydream or brainstorm about the plants, the space, and the overall atmosphere I want to create, considering the specific parameters for each area. At home, I'd been watching a show on English history, and I noticed the fabrics and various tartans and thought about how they could be incorporated into the designs of the English Walled Garden.

One of the garden’s six rooms features a checkerboard, paying homage to the formal aspects of English gardens. Here we plant annuals that will grow above the boxwoods, with a different texture, to create a harmonious look with the surrounding areas. Cleome, used in the checkerboard, is often featured in English gardens.

The center of the formal (daisy) garden features a tartan pattern; we selected plants with daisy-like flowers to maintain the garden's formal layout and balance. The annuals are planted in a symmetrical pattern.

Plants used:
Checkerboard:
Cleome hassleriana ‘Rose Queen’
Cleome hassleriana ‘White Queen’
Cleome hassleriana ‘Violet Queen’

Tartan:
Gaillardia x grandiflora ‘Mesa Peach’
Gaillardia x grandiflora ‘Mesa Red’
Tagetes patula ‘Durango Gold’ ‘PAS2251’

If you were to decorate a room in your home in this pattern…which room would you choose and why?
With the last name Sherwood, and the theme Tartan, I would decorate some part of my eating area in this pattern. Ideally, an outside eating area.

Bio:
Heather Sherwood is a senior horticulturist at the Helen and Richard Thomas English Walled Garden and serves as the Chicago Botanic Garden's beekeeper. With over 25 years working at the Garden, Heather’s passion for plants and people has only matured.