Running round spring gardens
Have you heard of hepaticas? Plus a rose pruning masterclass
February 23rd
It’s Christmas again. I knock on Rachel de Thame’s front door at 8am on Monday morning and she throws open the door to reveal a stupendous 20 foot Christmas tree adorned with all her favourite decorations. Swags of greenery sit on the mantelpiece and box stems are woven around picture frames. No, it’s not a dream, we’re re-living Christmas for a House & Garden shoot which will appear in the magazine next December. It’s all a bit surreal on what turns out to be one of the warmest and spring-like days of the year so far, but photographer Dean Hearne aces it and Rachel and her daughter Lauren are stars, sweltering in winter coats and scarves while they are photographed collecting winter greenery. We have fun, and it’s all in a day’s work to be thrown into a completely different season in the name of a good feature. We’re not faking it, as such, just recreating what would have happened over Christmas when Rachel was too busy with real life to do the shoot.
