BroadsheetUK_PrintEdition3 March2026_DIGITAL

FOR STARTERS

WORK UNIFORM With Garden Designer Butter Wakefield

NECKLACE “The necklace is made by my American friend Nora Brookfield. When I wear it, I’m immediately connected to her. She’s stopped making jewellery now, but I’m hoping she’ll start it up again.”

RINGS “I do like oversized pieces of jewellery. And I like nothing to match. There’s also a family signet ring – well, husband’s family. We got divorced but the ring stayed. That’s okay, isn’t it?”

BLOUSE AND KNITTED TANK “Both of these, which I like to pair together, are made by Penelope Chilvers, who I love. She also makes the comfiest boots.”

“I feel like if you buy a few really good pieces they should last you forever,” says Butter Wakefield, one of London’s most in-demand garden designers, of her clothes-shopping mantra. “That’s how I design, too – do it once, do it right, do it properly. Use reclaimed materials when you can. Buy British where you can. I try to run my life, my studio and my wardrobe in the same way.” Over the past 15 years Wakefield’s work has won countless awards, including a Royal Horticultural Society gold medal at Chelsea Flower Show, and she’s been named in House & Garden’s annual top 50 designers list for six years in a row. Her client list includes designers Matilda Goad and Rita Konig, and actor Keeley Hawes. “There are certain elements that might appear regularly, but I’d like to think that one of my unique selling points is that each project is very different,” Wakefield says. And though she admits to being a fan of the practical and the functional, her bold personal style veers far from the earth-toned outdoors wear usually associated with the garden. “I like a layered look. I like different textures and colours and patterns. Men’s clothes, actually, are just so great. Really good pockets everywhere. Oh, and it has to be warm because I’m always cold.”

TROUSERS “These are quite new Toast jeans, so I’m just wearing them in. I’m a big Toast fan; everything is beautifully made.”

IN SEASON

TRAINERS “Gucci for Adidas. They’re so, so comfortable – I live in them. I’ve got a pink pair too.”

Blood oranges By Che-Marie Trigg

As the final weeks of cold weather drag on, blood oranges come zestily into their own – bittersweet remedies for grey skies and winter stodge. Get them from Natoora, which works with a long-serving Sicil- ian grower. The ruby-red flesh and berry-like flavour of the moro variety heralds the start of the season, then the similarly rouge-coloured moro tardivo hits shelves. The bounty ends with the Tarocco Meli, first found on the slopes of Mount Etna, which has a softer taste than the moros. Around town, we’re drawn to the blood orange’s starring role in a tart at Fink’s in north London and in a rosé champagne-based cock- tail at South Bank’s Lyaness.

Photo by Rob Greig

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