Welcome to our garden — a quiet, green retreat behind our late Edwardian home in a small market town in Rutland, England. As a pattern designer, nature is one of my greatest sources of inspiration, and in this slow and gentle video, I’m taking you on a little tour of the garden in May — where the textures, colours, and calm rhythms shape my creative process.
Our North-Westerly garden is a long, narrow space full of life and layers — from wide planting beds and a tiny zinc pond to bird-friendly grasses and a lean-to greenhouse. It’s a place that grows slowly, gently — much like the handmade patterns I design for Sewillow.
✨ Keep an eye out for a sneak peek of my upcoming Astaria Crochet Basket Bag — a soft, textural bag pattern that’s just finished testing and will be available soon in my Etsy shop and on sewillow.com.
Whether you love slow living, handmade crafts, gentle inspiration, or just a glimpse of English cottage-style gardens — I hope this brings a little calm to your day.
🌼 Mentioned in this video: 🧶 Astaria Crochet Basket Bag – Coming soon to Sewillow 🌿 Our late Edwardian town garden in Rutland 🐾 Our rescue dog, our mini pond, and our handmade shed
💬 Let’s connect: What inspires your creativity? Would you like to see more of the garden as summer unfolds — maybe when the roses bloom or the hydrangeas burst into colour? Let me know in the comments 💛
Today's video is a little different from my usual sewing and knitting tutorial,
but also very much connected. I'm Henry, the pattern designer behind Sew Willow. I wanted
to invite you to a secret little tour of the space where many of my ideas begin, our garden.
It's a quiet retreat behind our late Edwardian home here in Rutland near the centre of England.
The house was built during the first world war and the garden is a pretty typical
town garden from that era. Narrow, long and hidden behind the row of brick houses in our
small Marker town. In May the garden is mostly green with just a few white blooms and the first
hints of California poppies beginning to open. Everything here is slightly behind the season
thanks to our northwesterly aspect, but it's always exciting waiting for the blooms to catch up.
There's no lawn here, instead we've chosen to lay pea shingle for the walking and seating areas and
include wide garden beds filling over with layers of plants and greenery. Our rescue dog likes to
drink from the little pond we've made in a zinc tub nestled among the trees and the ferns. It's
one of his favourite spots. We've created much of the garden ourselves after some advice from
the garden designer Guy Petheram. We even built the shed ourselves. Our deck chairs hang on the
front when not in use, always ready for a cup of tea in the afternoon sun. There's also a tiny lean
to greenhouse where I raise just a few seedlings each year, enough to feel connected to the rhythm
of the seasons. We garden with a no-dig method, no pesticides or chemicals and a strong respect
for the wildlife who choose to share the space with us. The plants are chosen to suit the soil
and to stand their ground against the slugs. In winter we leave the ornamental grasses and
seed heads standing, food and shelter for birds through the colder months. In early spring they
come and strip what they need to build their nests. It's a quiet kind of joy to watch. When I'm
not designing, sewing or working on freelance projects I often sit out here with yarn or fabric
in my hands. It's not always about producing, sometimes it's just about being still enough to
notice a leaf or the exact shade of a shadow. That's where most of my patterns begin.
The basket bag you'll see glimpses of here was shaped by the space,
not just in its looks but its pace of layers and textures.
Creativity often comes when I stop rushing and the garden helps me remember how.
Thank you for stepping into this quiet space with me. If you'd like to see more of the garden,
like when the roses bloom or the hydrangea heads appear or maybe a little tour of the greenhouse,
let me know in the comments below. I'd love to share more if you'd like to see it. Until next
time I hope your creativity grows where you make space for it and I hope the space inspires you.
