In The Garden Studio with Charlotte Molesworth

An artist and topiary gardener, Charlotte Molesworth brings her boundless creativity to a world that is entirely her own.

We were delighted when Charlotte agreed to illustrate our seasonal postcard, which you’ll find tucked inside each of our parcels this summer. Using ink, watercolour and a sharpened garden stick, she captured a dreamlike corner of her garden, full of character and quiet fantasy. Here, Charlotte speaks to us about the enduring pull of painting, the magic of shaping yews into chess pieces, and why the creative process, whether in the garden studio or among the shrubs, is as much about play as it is about patience.

“Painting is in me,” she says, “and it ebbs and flows - essentially, I have never stopped.” From oils and charcoal to linocut prints, her work moves easily between mediums, often depending on the time she has to spare - a rhythm perhaps shaped by years spent as an art teacher. These days, she gives herself more freedom to follow creative instinct, and often that instinct leads her to the garden: a space where structure and imagination meet.

It’s the perfect backdrop for the scene so dreamily captured in our summer postcard. “It’s a synopsis of all the topiary within the garden,” she says of her illustration, “mixed with a bit of fun and fantasy! It was the freedom of your brief that inspired me.” True to form, Charlotte approached the piece in a wonderfully whimsical way. “It was drawn using a sharpened stick from the garden and walnut ink. Then painted with watercolour -  I love the varied, irregular marks one gets from using a stick to draw with!"

The garden itself is a reflection of her artistic sensibility, a place that feels both cultivated and carefree. There’s a sense of mischief to it, from oversized yews to chess-piece hedges and curious corners that seem to invite you to pause and look closer. “Topiary is a good choice for a busy person,” she laughs, “as it only really needs attention once a year!

But it’s a deceptively slow art form, rooted in careful observation and trust in the process. “You must open up the plant you are working on and hold a serious discussion with it. Does it have a central trunk or is it multi-trunked? You push and pull it into various shapes before making the first actual cut.

The garden, like the house, has taken shape over many years, gently evolving, often more intuitively than practically. “We failed miserably with the configuration of main thoroughfares - easy routes with loaded wheelbarrows etc - but that will have to wait until another life!” she jokes. And yet, it’s precisely this organic, playful approach that gives the space its charm.Now, after a busy few months, Charlotte is looking forward to a slower season, one that leaves more room for reflection, brushstrokes, and, no doubt, a few more quiet conversations with the hedges.