In a garden blending drought-tolerant plants with personal history, designer Olivia Morris has created a space that reflects both environmental awareness and a rich horticultural narrative. Located near the coastal regions of southeast England, the garden features a gravelled terrace with olive trees, lavender, and an array of perennials suited to withstand wind and dry conditions.

Central to the garden’s development was planting designer Marc O’Neill, who reconnected with Morris, having known her since their late teens in Dublin. O’Neill, who has volunteered at Great Dixter for over a decade, helped shape the planting scheme to feel natural and structurally interesting throughout the year. The garden includes plants such as Euphorbia mellifera, Pittosporum tobira, Pinus mugo ‘Mops’, and Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’, which provide texture and movement into late summer. Seasonal color is introduced through drought-tolerant species like Achillea ‘Credo’ and ‘Terracotta’, Perovskia ‘Blue Spire’, Dianthus, Tulbaghia ‘Fairy Star’, and Verbena ‘Bampton’. The New Zealand Manuka plant also adds a splash of pink flowers in early spring.

Morris and O’Neill took measures to address the site’s challenges, such as its windy conditions and erosion-prone slopes. They pinned coconut matting to the hillside to help plants establish roots and prevent soil loss. While some plant choices like Stipa gigantea were less successful, the focus has remained on hardy, wind-resistant varieties. Plants struggling in pots on the balcony have been moved into innovative containers, including a large scallop shell reclaimed from a Victorian fountain, now filled with succulents.

Several plants in the garden carry personal significance. An olive tree has been with Morris for 25 years, transplanted from her former London flat, and Rosa rugosas thrive similarly to their coastal counterparts. A soft pink rose, ‘Olivia Rose Austin’, was given to Morris on her 50th birthday and grows well in the garden. Some plants, such as drifts of Tulipa turkestanica, were inspired by local roundabouts in Bexhill and Hastings, while joyful California poppies pay homage to Derek Jarman’s garden at nearby Prospect Cottage in Dungeness.

The garden serves as creative inspiration for Morris’s label, Olivia Morris At Home, launched in 2020. Initially focused on house shoes made from velvet and satin, the brand has since expanded to robes crafted from floral silks, chintz, and vintage textiles, alongside wide-brimmed garden hats. Each month, Morris produces a mood board centered on a flower species that influences new collection pieces; the August theme, for example, features daisies using fabric from 1970s designers Sanderson and Jonelle.

Locally sourced plants from independent nurseries—including Great Dixter Nurseries, Athelas Plants in Hooe, and Zophian Plants, managed by skateboarder-turned-plantsman Toby Shuall—form the backbone of the garden. Shuall specializes in resilient, drought-tolerant perennials and has contributed selections such as Cirsium rivulare ‘Trevor’s Blue Wonder’ and a pale butter-yellow cistus. Morris describes much of the planting as an ongoing experiment, reflecting her evolving appreciation for unusual and hardy garden specimens suited to the site’s unique conditions.