When garden designer Fiona Hampton moved to Luxembourg five years ago she was faced with more challenging landscapes than in her native England. “There are a lot of slopes here; heavy clay soil with pockets of sand, surprisingly different climates meaning you can grow kiwis near the Moselle while spring comes late in the North… No garden is the same in Luxembourg; it’s what makes it interesting.” Just as stimulating is being confronted with the many nationalities, all asking for very different gardens: “Everybody wants to recreate a little bit of home.” Whether she’s contacted to provide ideas, to rebuild a garden or to implant one from scratch, Fiona Hampton, also the president of the Green Fingers Club here (www.greenfingers.lu), takes pride in finding the perfect solution. “I can see thousands of possibilities in each garden. The thing is to find out what people want, how much – or how little – time they want to spend gardening, what’s possible and what looks good, all while staying within the budget.” She frequently tries out ideas in her own garden (currently being transformed into an edible forest garden) and goes plant shopping in Holland and Germany.

Tags | Avril, Faces, Lucienne's