Malcolm Hillier |
 |
In 1970, Malcolm Hillier's lifelong passion for plants and flowers found professional fruition; with Colin Hilton he set up a garden design practice, and worked with clients in Britain, France, Germany, the United States, and the Caribbean. Two years later they opened a flower shop in Barnes, London, and from there arranged flowers for weddings, banquets and formal occasions as well as designing sets for major feature films (French Lieutenant's Woman, Yentl, Greystoke, The Shining, and Hayfever).
Malcolm wrote his first book, The Complete Book of Dried Flowers, in 1986. An instant best-seller and now the classic reference on the subject, it was the first of 20 books that he has written for Dorling Kindersley on flowers, gardening, food, and entertaining. These titles, in total, have sold over four million copies around the world.
In 1988, Malcolm sold his flower shop (though he still continued to design gardens) to allow more time for writing and fulfilling his other creative dreams. One of these has been the transformation of the garden at his home in London's Chelsea. The house, built in 1674 as part of a royal palace for the Earls of Lindsey, has breathtaking views over the river Thames, and was once the home of artist James McNeill Whistler. Whistler's celebrated painting The Little White Girl (1864) features the fireplace in Malcolm's drawing room.
Behind the house, Malcolm has designed an exquisite garden to appeal to the senses: an arbour at the far end is covered with scented climbers; there are three small pools with splashing water; an incredible variety of leaf textures makes touching the plants an intriguing experience; fruit trees and herbs appeal to the sense of taste, and imaginative layering of evergreen hedges and topiary ensures that the garden is a treat to view even in the depths of winter. Most summers, the garden is open for a couple of evenings under the National Garden Scheme and during Chelsea week.
Malcolm's current project is the property that he bought three years ago on the island of Saba in the West Indies. Situated 600m directly above the sea, the stone and cedar timber peg-house is like a barn, though it still retains the original 18th-century cottage hearth and chimney. From the terraced decks it has an 180-degree panorama of the sea and towering cliffs as well as several nearby islands, and behind it lies the rainforest-covered summit of Mount Scenery. The grounds are covered by enormous rocks, dripping with bromeliads, orchids, ferns, and night-flowering cacti. It is here that Malcolm now spends several months each year, writing, gardening, and entertaining – for this is another of his great passions.
|
|
|
Email Alerts
To keep up-to-date, input your email address, and we will contact you on publication
|
|
|
dorling kindersley books 
View basket |
Free P&P on UK
are registered and/or unregistered trade marks of