The Story Behind Our Latest Wild Garden Fabric Collection
Looking to spruce up your space with the addition of some colourful floral-inspired textiles? Our Wild Garden fabric collection is a joyful celebration of nature’s quiet abundance, inviting you to bring the delicate beauty of native wildflowers and pollinator-friendly plants into your home.
In today’s blog, we’re delighted to share the inspiration and creative journey behind our collection, along with some thoughtful styling tips to help you make the most of these contemporary botanical print fabrics.
Inspired by a walk in the wild
Our whimsical Wild Garden fabric collection draws inspiration from Britain’s untamed flora. Vanessa has always had a deep love of nature, and was inspired to create the collection following a walk with her young grandson. During this walk, they spotted the first honeybees of the season who were searching for nectar from a hawthorn blossom. “These are moments of amazement and wonder that I’ve tried to capture in my four new designs: Sunflower, Fine, Foliage, Berries & Leaves, and Dotty Check,” Vanessa explains.
Each print in the collection gives a gentle nod to wildlife and the importance of biodiversity, depicting plants that offer food for birds, nectar for bees and butterflies, and shelter for small creatures. More on that below…
From sketch to screen
Vanessa took a very hands-on approach when designing this collection. She stepped away from the office and into her home studio (really a table in her sitting room!), where her inspiration came to life with scissors, lino blocks, potatoes, and whatever other materials she could get her hands on. The design element for this collection took around two months, followed by another month of scanning the artwork into the computer, adjusting scale and repeats, and preparing the final files for silk screen making.
For Fine Foliage, one of the standout botanical print fabrics in the collection, Vanessa gathered ferns, bracken, hornbeam, and wild grasses on a walk around Coniston Water in Cumbria. Rather than sketching them, she pressed and scanned them directly into a computer to create an ethereal, large-scale repeat.
The Sunflower and Sunflower Detail designs were based on a Victorian ceramic tile depicting these cheerful blooms and created using lino cuts. Meanwhile, Dotty Check is inspired by Vanessa’s daughter Rose’s gouache grid paintings. As Rose recalls: “I would paint checks for days on end, exploring the limitless possibilities of colour combinations. And then Mum proposed turning one of these checks into a fabric!”
A closer look at the designs and colourways
Our Wild Garden fabric collection consists of four distinctive designs in a total of 24 colourways. The collection centres on the following colours:
- Day Lily – a gentle, warm orange
- Indigo – a cheerful blue
- Soft Raspberry – a gentle red-pink
- Cloud – a quiet pastel blue/green
Each design is printed on our unique eco-cloth and woven from a combination of 60% linen and 40% organic cotton yarns. So, if you purchase one of our Wild Garden fabrics, you’re also helping to support sustainable, ethical production practices.
Fine Foliage
Fine Foliage is an airy and serene print, perfect for use on curtains or statement blinds. It’s available in a variety of shades, with the Duck Egg, Moss, Light Indigo & Soft Cornflower colourway being one of our top sellers.
Sunflower and Sunflower Detail
Sunflower is a bold and cheerful print, echoing the joy of these summer blooms nodding in the sun. The Sunflower Detail version, in its multicoloured block-printed style, works beautifully when layered with plains and checks. The Soft Raspberry colourways are particularly popular, adding visual interest to virtually any space.
Berries & Leaves
Berries & Leaves is a light, airy, and abstract print. It’s a spirited celebration of shape and colour that lends itself beautifully to upholstery and blinds. The Soft Peach & Smoke colourway is a firm favourite for brightening up living rooms and kitchens.
Dotty Check
Dotty Check brings a sense of structure and balance to the collection. Vanessa and her daughter Rose’s shared vision really comes through in this print. The Lily Pink, Soft Raspberry & Ochre colourway looks especially beautiful on cushions, headboards, and bed valances.
Coordinating designs
These four new nature-themed fabric designs coordinate perfectly with our existing fabrics. Pair our new fabrics with Woodland Walk in Smoke or Moss, Lattice Leaf in Moss & Damson, and Lapland Stripe in Moss, Lichen, Damson & Lily Pink to build a complete scheme across your home.
Top tips for styling with our Wild Garden collection
Colour is key when styling with our Wild Garden fabric collection. “Choose three of my colours and stick to them,” Vanessa advises. “This allows you to confidently mix and match any of my patterns. Two colours can feel too matchy-matchy, but three opens up a whole new world of creative possibility.”
She suggests starting with a statement piece like Fine Foliage curtains in Day Lily, Ochre, Soft Raspberry & Soft Peach. Then, use our Dotty Check fabric for your headboard or sofa, and layer in some cushions in Berries & Leaves or Sunflower Detail for added visual interest.
Need a hand with combinations? Read our blog on combining colour and pattern.
Create something special with our Wild Garden fabric collection
Explore our full Wild Garden collection and let your creativity take root!
We sell fabrics exclusively designed by Vanessa Arbuthnott, along side small, bespoke collection of Made to Measure items which includes curtains, blinds, sofas, footstools, chairs, headboards, and quilts, all handmade specially for you by master crafts people.
