This week, Little Greene introduces their sixth wallpaper collection created in collaboration with the National Trust, In the Garden. The eight eclectic designs colorfully draw on the intriguing relationship between interior design and the outdoor space, which can so often define the character of a locale, building or even a specific room.
The designs have been inspired by formal gardens, grand grounds, humble horticultural collections, individual plants and historical floral artefacts that have all been loved, cherished and cared for by the National Trust.
Take a closer look at each of the designs below:
Magnolia Blossom
Known for their fragrant flowers, distinctive seedpods and transformational annual blossom, Magnolias are among the oldest tree species in the world. This wallpaper depicts four cherished specimens in the care of the National Trust at Nymans in Sussex, Bodnant in North Wales, and the estates of Lanhydrock and Trengwainton in Cornwall, where their soft petals, in bloom and as fallen blossom, are a sight to behold every spring.
Castle Garden (Mural)
Having been omitted from the inheritance of the (much larger) family estate of Knole in Kent, the 20th-century poet and writer Vita Sackville-West fell in love with the dilapidated Sissinghurst castle and gardens in Sussex in 1930. Alongside her husband, Vita dedicated the next 30 years to renovating and totally replanting the expansive, segmented gardens that surround the iconic castle tower.
Sissinghurst is now one of the most-visited and best-loved gardens in England, and this joyful wallpaper mural depicting an abundance of wild, layered blooms set against the more formal gardens has been designed and colored to pay tribute to Sissinghurst’s eclectic vibrancy.
Lily Pads (Mural)
Within the Stackpole Estate in the south-west corner of Wales, nature thrives in over five square miles of protected coastline, farmland, forestry and lakes. The Lily Pads design showcases graphic lily pads interspersed with waterlilies. Hidden in their midst, dragonflies, otters, kingfishers, butterflies and tiny water boatmen reveal themselves in this expansive celebration of native British flora and fauna.
Mr Straw’s Greenhouse
In 1939, brothers William and Walter Straw moved into their late parents’ Edwardian home in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, with Walter (affectionally known as Mr Straw) also taking over the family grocery business, which had served the community for over 50 years. The brothers shared an active interest in collecting succulents and cacti. Their humble greenhouse at the end of the garden is still home to an ongoing array of specimens that have inspired this light-hearted wallpaper design.
Rose Garden
This design is inspired by the sensational walled rose garden at Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire. Besides a grand house, built around a medieval priory and steeped in generations of architectural evolution, Mottisfont is also home to the National Plant Collection of Rosa; pre-1900 shrub roses.
The roses tended here are exclusively historic species, characteristically fuller in shape and – unlike a contemporary variety – they flower only once annually, making for a sensorially spectacular experience for a few weeks in early summer every year.
Moon Daisies
Taking its title from an informal name for the ox-eye daisy, which is known for reflecting moonlight alongside country roads and paths at night, this design features bright yellow flocked centers on daisies with interlocking stems; a much simpler interpretation than the late-19th-century wallpaper, found at Oxburgh Hall, that inspired it.
Rhododendron Walk
Clumped bursts of ancient color, in the form of rhododendrons and azaleas, have famously accompanied woodland and lakeside walks in the grounds of National Trust properties. In a synthesis of historic content and a time-served manufacturing technique, this paper features an abundance of colorful blooms, bursting towards the light whilst friendly bees land on their petals. Rendered in nine surface-printed colors in elegant combinations, this dramatic design aligns with contemporary interior spaces.
May’s Tulip
May Morris, the daughter of celebrated Arts & Crafts figurehead, poet and design icon William Morris, inherited not only her father’s business and some of his status, but was a highly skilled protagonist of the Arts & Crafts movement herself.
The trailing May’s Tulip design is inspired by a beautiful set of late-19th-century weaves showing sprawling tulips, lovingly set into panels as a room divider. This wallpaper depicts a flowing network of intertwining vines and curling stems interspersed with stylized flowers and emerging buds creating a rhythm and harmonious pattern.
A contribution from the sale of every roll of Little Greene wallpaper is made in support of the National Trust’s important work caring for 500 places, including 890 miles of coastline, historic sites, 250,000 hectares of countryside and green spaces, ensuring that people and nature thrive – now and forever.
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