Jinny Blom has created a lush tropical garden in the heart of London

Garden designer Jinny Blom turned to giants ferns and tropical colour to create this dense, secluded hideaway in the heart of London

Getting this balance right requires a certain amount of skill. ‘You don’t want to plant something that’s going to outgrow its space in a few years’ time,’ says Jinny, who has more than two decades of experience in designing exceptionally well-judged gardens. Here, she has carefully selected trees that can be kept to an appropriate size, including the beautiful little yellow wattle Acacia pravissima, and the silky needled Pinus patula, which responds well to pruning if required.

An interesting mix of differing textures was chosen to achieve a layered evergreen look without it becoming too heavy and dark: furry stems of Rhus typhina blend with the trunks of Dicksonia antarctica, set off by the soft downy leaves of Tetrapanax papyrifera with Acacia pravissima providing lightness and movement

Britt Willoughby Dyer

The high walls of the surrounding houses allowed Jinny to approach the garden as a self-contained world, largely free from any wider botanical context, so she opted for a generally tropical plant palette, including Pseudopanax ferox, Melianthus major and Tetrapanax papyrifer. ‘All those wonderful jungly things create a texturally interesting, green backdrop that looks good all year round. Then we embroidered it with strong seasonal colour,’ Jinny explains. Fiery red Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’, orange Hedychium coccineum ‘Tara’, and the giant crinkled leaves of Salvia confertiflora – topped by velvety orange flowers on rich red stems – all pack a visual punch.

The surrounding buildings are almost entirely hidden by the leaf canopies of tree ferns that frame the arched entrance to the garden gym in red brick, which Jinny picked up in the warm tones of a Corten-steel retaining wall at a point where the garden gently steps up a level.

Britt Willoughby Dyer

Summer bulbs include the firework sparkle of Allium schubertii and punky Allium ‘Red Mohican’, which is paired with eye-popping Crocosmia ‘Severn Sunrise’. Earlier in the year, there are masses of species tulips – mainly Tulipa sprengeri and T. acuminata – and a few of the brightest and best cultivated forms, including the reliable, sweetly scented tangerine-orange ‘Ballerina’. ‘I have consciously worked lots of subtle fragrance into the planting,’ says Jinny. ‘I think it’s something you appreciate when you’re in the heart of a city.’

From the sweet honey hit of Euphorbia mellifera and vanilla-spiced chocolate vine Akebia quinata to the soft scent released by Calamintha nepeta whenever a bicycle wheel brushes past, this invisible extra dimension adds significantly to the overall impact of the garden. ‘It’s an intentionally sensuous space,’ observes Jinny. ‘I wanted the owners to be able to open all the doors in their house and feel protected and enveloped by plants, but I also wanted them to feel drawn outside to spend time in the garden,’ she explains. ‘That’s why I chose to hang a swing seat – not just a swing – from the pergola. The children can have fun on it or snuggle up with their parents for a story, but the grown-ups can enjoy it on their own as well. Swinging is a treat usually denied to adults, but we all deserve a place where we can feel truly free’.

Jinny’s new book ‘What Makes a Garden’ (Frances Lincoln, £35) is out now. jinnyblom.com | David Money Architects: davidmoney.com | Ryan Alexander Associates: raael.com