Celebrity Gardeners: Nicole Farhi's garden - Daily Telegraph

Farhi, 65, grew up in an apartment in Nice, in the south of France, before moving to Paris to study fashion. It wasnt until she moved to her current home 33 years ago that she acquired her first garden. Four years later she founded her eponymous fashion label, which celebrates its 30th anniversary next year.

Her designs for next spring have a floral theme, which she researched by taking lots of photographs at her favourite nursery, Tendercare, in Denham, Buckinghamshire. Her own garden has practically no flowers 'I prefer the different tones in green shrubs although there are muted colours throughout: a pink 'Kent' rose in the border nearest to the house, a large white Hebe albicans and white H. subalpina on the right in front of the conservatory, and a white camellia, which was a wedding present to her and David Hare in 1992 from the director Sir Richard Eyre and his wife, tucked away by the steps leading down to the lawn. Camellias also line the driveway at the front of the house.

'I like their fragility, Farhi says.

'I find it almost magical that they suddenly appear and dont last very long.

The mix of greens combined with soft, pale flowers has created a 'peaceful and beautiful sanctuary that forms a backdrop to Farhis sculpture studio inside the old conservatory that runs down one side of the garden. Two 7ft bay trees flank the studio. Inside is a large fig tree that a friend gave Farhi last year, and a mature prolific vine that sprawls over the walls.

'I tried to grow tomatoes and courgettes one year, but I had to water them a lot and the vine didnt like it, she says.

'I prefer the grapes, so Ive stopped growing vegetables.

Tucked away on the opposite, shadier side of the garden is a wooden gazebo that looks as old as the house. In fact it was built for the 1992 film Damage starring Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche, which Hare wrote and in which the garden played a supporting role.

'The funny thing is that the location scout rang on the doorbell not knowing that this was Davids house, Farhi says.

'The scout just spotted it from outside and thought the garden would be perfect for the film.

More often, though, the garden is a space for entertaining both for dinners, when the weather is fine, and parties.

'One of the nicest parties I ever hosted was for my friend Eduardo Paolozzi, the sculptor, Farhi remembers.

'I have a lot of his sculptures and so we put them all in the garden, like a sculpture garden, with tables around for his 70th birthday. It was so lovely, and exactly what I love my garden to be used for.