Gardener's Delight

Welcome to my first newsletter and blog of 2024. Many thanks for opening and hopefully reading this, and a happy new year to you all…

Above and Below, sample pages from the soon-to-be-published ‘A New Cottage Garden’ by Mark Bolton

A New Cottage Garden will be published in august this year, and I am delighted with how it looks. Many thanks to the fabulous Pimpernel Press, and the excellent Sarah Pyke who designed the book. I photographed and wrote the book, but Sarah stitched it together, and Jo Christian led me on through the whole process. It was a massive job for me, but as a mad keen gardener it was one I loved doing. I know every single clod of earth in that little patch and have learnt so much along the way; how to prune, mulch, sow and pick. I also met some amazing people along the way; as it’s a cottage garden book, I was keen to see Gravetye Manor (the home of William Robinson, one of the most important figures in cottage garden history) and luckily I was commissioned by Which Gardening Magazine to shoot there every month for a year (a project about fruit tree maintenance through the year). Tom Coward and his team were so helpful, and whilst learning a lot about fruit, I also found the time to study the garden and the planting style that Robinson developed during his years living at the Manor house. Please do keep an eye out for the book, but don’t worry I will remind you!

I have been a garden photographer (and interiors) for more years than I care to remember now, and have been principle photographer on many books. I also work regularly for all the gardening magazines, and have worked commercially for many garden product suppliers. I am always interested in discussing possible shoots, features, interesting new plants and lovely gardens. Do get in touch with your ideas and thanks for looking at this. I will send another newsletter next month (thats the plan at the moment!) and in the meantime, happy (chilly!) gardening. I’m looking forward to some snowdrops (thanks to Avon Bulbs for letting me shoot these four below last year); and would always be interested to know of any nice winter/spring gardens you may have heard about… Mark

Updated website news

Between decorating the kitchen, weeding the garden, finishing a book and travelling here there and everywhere for work, I trawled the archives and found some new images to update the website. Thanks to Rosie Nevins I have a new logo and the whole thing looks rather better I think! If you are not already ‘subscribed’ to my email list, please do so here (in the sidebar to the left). I’d love to hear what you think, and thanks, as ever, for looking at my pictures. I have completed and delivered ‘A New Cottage Garden’, to be published in 2024 by Pimpernel Press; quite a job, as I built the garden from scratch, photographed it and wrote the text…

By the way, the decorating is far from finished ;-)

Thanks for reading this, and if you would like any more information, do get in touch. If you’d prefer not to hear from me, please unsubscribe! PS thanks to Iride and Sandra Design, Sarah Price Garden Design (Chelsea 2023) and Kelling Design for the images above.

Autumn 2023 Interiors Photography

Well it’s been a very busy few months, mostly photographing my garden for a book due to be published next september, but the deadline has been met and it’s been nice to shoot some interior work over the last couple of weeks. I have been working in London for a lovely couple of designers, Iride and Sandra, who have a fresh and contemporary approach to their work; clean, crisp and architectural. I also worked with Henriette Von Stockhausen (VSP interiors) at her own place in Dorset. A beautiful mix of traditional and modern, mixing textiles, art and antique furniture (to appear shortly in Country Life magazine). Then there was a shoot in the Peak District for Matt Gerrish of his family home. A gorgeous transformation of a country cottage, again mixing art, antiques and modern touches. It’s been an exciting few weeks!

Recent work for C.P Hart Bathrooms in Wales, and Kelling Design in Northamptonshire

Lovely day’s shoot for the fabulously luxurious C.P Hart in west Wales. A really nice house in Pembrokeshire, with a classic bathroom beneath the eaves.

Bathroom in Wales, shot for clients C.P Hart

Day shoot for Kelling Design in Norhamptonshire. Colourful and classic, on a very HOT day!

Recent work for The South Sands Hotel in Salcombe

I used to work at this place when I was a boy. I was car park attendant and had an absolute blast of a summer, living in the ‘staff accommodation’ at the back of the hotel (these are now rather plush suites that overlook the beach, but back then they were hovels with no electricity… still, you don’t care when you are 18 and away from home for the first time do you?!). The hotel is now a rather fabulous beachside place with beautiful rooms and a view to die for. Thanks for the work, South Sands Hotel!

A week in The Caribbean with P&O Cruises 'Arvia'

They said they wanted me to spend a week on board their new ship; in January. In the Caribbean. Ummmmm… difficult decision, but ‘Oh go on then’…

It may sound like the best of jobs; eat all you can, wearing just a tee shirt and shorts, and occasionally get an afternoon off to explore a quiet desert island. But, honestly, we did a lot of work and it’s actually quite tricky manoeuvring a tripod up 14 flights of stairs (actually there was a lift), but you get my drift. I shot restaurants (there are at least a dozen of them), cabins, theatres, and spa areas, and the weather was perfect. It’s so much easier to get a nice image of a pool if the sky is blue! Many thanks to the wonderful crew and management of P&O Cruises, who were brilliant.

And many thanks to the ever fabulous ‘Sunday’, a content marketing agency based in London who organised and drove the whole show… brilliantly done!

Back to normality now, I’m off to shoot a house for Grand Designs Magazine, and desperately hoping for some blue skies in Cornwall tomorrow!

A Winter's Tale

Well, it’s mid-march and in previous years I would now be on the road, photographing various houses, gardens and hotels, all bathed in a wash of warm spring sunshine. Actually that’s probably a bit of a false memory (!) but we can dream! It’s cold and damp here (fortunately for my garden we have missed the snow in South Devon), so I am in the office doing admin.

It was a quiet but productive winter and I was lucky enough to shoot for a week in the Caribbean for long time clients P&O. It was definitely sunny there! I also photographed a couple of fabulous kitchens for Guild Anderson in Wiltshire, and also had a lovely day at Ascott House, now run by the National Trust, for Maak Contemporary ceramics… and there was a day near Dartmouth, photographing an amazing tree planting project.

Mostly though, I have been writing and photographing for my book, ‘A New Cottage Garden’ to be published next year by Pimpernel Press. I think it should be an interesting and (I hope!) beautiful book about making a garden. From both a personal and educational standpoint. Before I actually embarked on this, I hadn’t really thought through what was involved in writing and photographing a book, let alone actually building the garden! so many things to think about and plan. For inspiration, I visited East Lambrook Manor, one of the spiritual homes of cottage gardening for this project, and also popped down to see old friend Bath at Gunwalloe in Cornwall… always a joy!

Anyway, here’s to the swift arrival of spring, and thanks to all my clients and work friends. Keep in touch, I hope to see some of you again this year. The website has been revitalised; there are lots of new images, and plenty more to come!

Gravetye Manor, East Sussex, England

I have spent much of the last year photographing at Gravetye Manor in East Sussex. What a joy it’s been. I have done a series of shoots for one of the garden magazines and have also been involved in shooting some interiors for the hotel itself. Alongside this, I have been photographing for a book due to be published in 2024 about cottage gardens, and if you know your cottage gardening you will know that William Robinson, who lived here for much of the early part of the twentieth century, was a major figure in popularising that style of gardening. It’s a beautifully planted garden and the current gardener, Tom Coward, has done a fabulous job keeping the ethos of Robinson, whilst also paying heed to the needs of a modern garden. He and his team have also been a help when it comes to my own efforts in the garden; It never ceases to amaze me how much I don’t know about gardening! despite having been quite obsessed for many years…

If you would like to see any of the recent garden images at Gravetye Manor, please do let me know (there are some on the website, but I can send samples if you like). And if you are after Hotel Photography, do check out my web site, and many thanks for reading this! Have a great week, Mark

From Greece to Chelsea

It’s been a busy few weeks. As my last post described, I had been in Greece, shooting for interior designers MHD… then on to Chelsea for a rather more ‘normal’ show (last year we had the slightly odd spectacle of late summer at Chelsea so it was good to be back with the more usual early summer hues!). Also a kitchen shoot with Guild Anderson in Wiltshire which looked fabulous. I have selected a few images for this post, but have uploaded a lot more on to the website. Please do take a look and keep in touch!

I’m also working on a book for the excellent Pimpernel press about cottage gardens… here’s one from my own place… let me know if you know of any beautiful traditional cottage gardens! might be worth a visit ;-)

Greece, beautiful Greece

Always lovely to be commissioned for a photography job but some definitely have a particular 'hard to turn down' allure - do you ever work in Tuscany? Can you photograph our castello near Sienna? We're looking for an interiors photographer for a project near Jaipur...  And so it was when the brilliant Martin Hulbert Design team wondered if I had the time to document their work at a private villa on a Greek Island - um yeah sure... 

The villa was perched over an impossibly pretty bay in the hills, with views across to Albania - a mere eight miles away; steeply terraced gardens filled with Bougainvillea and Lantana were by talented garden designer Julie Toll who coincidentally I've worked with before. Having also worked with Martin on other occasions, I knew the house would be equally breathtaking and so it proved to be - the only problem being how to capture it all in the allotted time. Fortunately, as we had a full team on hand from his London studio (similarly pleased to be on site), it worked out well.

The week ended with a trip to Corfu Town (Kérkyra) - a jewel of a place with its Byzantine and Venetian influences - watching a cricket match cold beer in hand in the large square, the Spianáda, as thousands of raucous swifts ricocheted above. Well, someone's gotta do it...

Interior images to follow ;-). Please do get in touch if you’d like me to travel far and wide for you (I’m off to Le Marches in Italy later this month for Appassionata Property… another tough gig I suspect ;-)

A Norfolk, London and York Photography extravaganza with Kelling and Martin Hulbert

I have just completed two weeks shooting for Kelling Designs, all across Norfolk and London. The work is colourful, elegant and interesting. And Norfolk is a beautiful county, and one that I would visit a whole lot more, if it wasn’t for the fact that, as a Devon based photographer, the journey takes a while! Here are some of the images, many thanks to all involved, especially the clients who were wonderfully generous with their houses and their time.

And just before that I shot some of Martin Hulbert Designs new work in York, at the No 1 York hotel… as ever, a sumptuously assured display..

Thanks so much for reading this and do keep in touch if you have interior or hotel photography requirements… It’s getting very busy but I can always find time for new projects! have a great week, Mark

Happy New Year!

Well, the weather has been appalling and we’ve all had a real year of it, but I’m looking forward to spring and hoping we can all slowly warm up and see some colour! Many thanks to all of you who I worked with me (let’s do some more!), and in the mean time, these images will remind you that in about 6 weeks time the ground will be warming up and spring bulbs will be emerging. There’s always new life, let’s look ahead and here’s to a better year. These images were all taken last year at The Garden House in Devon (a favourite haunt), and the feature below was take at the same place in late summer. Thanks for reading and have a great week, Mark