Persephone Garden, Mulgrave Castle

This Hesperidian garden, designed for conversation, is dedicated to the Persephone, goddess of spring and Queen of the Underworld. It lies within the castle’s walled garden, radiates around an existing stone basin, and is encircled by a wildflower meadow. The vernal oasis is a medley of magnolias and early-flowering bulbs and perennials set within a Sicilian-inspired mosaic comprised of architectural salvages, fieldstone, clay tiles, chimney pots, bricks, and broken slates, all of which were gathered on the North Yorkshire farming estate (the pebbles came from Scotland). The scheme evolved spontaneously, and its idiosyncratic central pavement was laid over several days by Todd, the owners, and the estate’s building team and gardeners.