All gardens are beautiful, but it is only the most special ones that stick in our minds for years and are not eroded by the sands of time. Looking back at Jane Fonda's home in Paris is a rare glimpse into an outdoor space with this elusive staying power.
An archival image of the actor's French countryside garden from 1970 revels in planting unbound by convention. It features a stone walkway overgrown with grass, and stone walls overgrown with ivy, grounded by swaying silver birch trees. Though the look is wild, it feels anything but messy. Instead, it's a beautiful celebration of the natural world. We spoke with Homes & Gardens resident master gardener, Rachel Bull, to understand why Jane's planting works so well.
Rachel explains: 'The greenery we see in this beautiful French courtyard garden takes us back to a time of naturalistic charm; of rustic elegance where the plants have been allowed to grow freely and yet still beautifully complement the stone walls and wooden barn doors.' Decorating stepping stone, like these from Wayfair, and a bit of wild planting go a long way.
Recreate Jane's Look at Home
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This versatile and heat tolerant plant is a beautiful addition to any garden and looks especially elegant placed at the front of a home. The river birch variety is especially hardy.
This beautiful, verdant ivy plant would be the perfect complement to a wild garden. It looks gorgeous climbing on an antique-style white house. There are enough seeds in the pack to ensure you create a beautiful display.
A combination of plants leads to this timeless effect. Jane opts for hearty plants for a courtyard garden to create a strong, beautiful look that requires little maintenance. Rachel unpacks the design, stating: 'Ivy creeps up and along the walls, while tall shrubs soften the edges of a wooden gateway. The young silver birch would add a dappled shade and lots of graceful movement to the planting.'
Another enchanting element of Jane's design is that she uses a wild gardening technique. Rather than opting for a highly manicured design, she lets the plants grow as they will.
'I love to see the grass growing up in between the small paving slabs,' Rachel observes. 'Some might see this as untidy or as weeds taking over, but I think it creates this wonderfully soft, botanical carpet that softens the hard landscaping and embraces the natural order of plants growing in this courtyard.'
Timeless gardening is a versatile phrase that can describe a range of looks and designs. When the focus is on intentionality rather than final effect, the wild product is always gorgeous. Even in the '70s, a personalized, carefree approach produced a beautiful result.
