Natural selection

Carved out of an abandoned olive grove on a rocky hillside in Corfu, there sits a dazzling garden with breathtaking views over the turquoise Ionian Sea. Taking her cues from nature, its British-born designer Jennifer Gay has sensitively bedded the garden into a natural landscape of wild maquis and ancient olive trees, using her encyclopaedic knowledge of Mediterranean flora to create a sort of heightened reality, with textures, colours and shapes poised in painterly perfection. It’s a garden that celebrates the beauty of the Mediterranean coastline while providing a practical family space for her clients to enjoy.

The property belongs to Alexandra Mollof and her husband, who live in the UK but have Greek connections and were looking for a holiday home where they and their two children could enjoy Corfu’s long, hot summers, immersed in nature. “Having fallen in love with the site’s rugged terrain, towering trees and magnificent views of the sea and sky, the clients commissioned Paris-based architect Emmanuel Choupis of MXarchitecture to design a contemporary stone-clad house set into the hillside,” explains Jennifer. “I was brought in at the beginning of the design process and worked closely with both clients and the architect to create a natural garden that respected the beauty of the site, while complementing the contemporary architecture and integrating both into the surrounding landscape. The clients also wanted to feel close to nature and harvest their own fruit and vegetables.”

Inspired by the tough, drought-resilient plants grown by French nurseryman Olivier Filippi – and by the sensitivity of Dan Pearson’s gardens – Jennifer set out her masterplan for the space. “As well as anchoring the buildings into their surroundings, I wanted to retain the character of the olive groves and associated flora,” she says, “while creating spaces for entertaining, swimming and playing to fulfil the family’s needs.”

To help blur the lines between the building and the plants behind the house, Jennifer