Over the next 12 weeks in COUNTRY LIFE, Arabella Lennox-Boyd and Jonathan Self will create, piece by piece, a fantasy 10-acre estate with a Georgian house as the centrepiece. Because it is an invented scenario, it incorporates a wide range of features and interests, from a vineyard to a sundial garden, a pool to a stable block. Where appropriate, ideal plants and accessories are suggested. Next week week one begins with a water theme.
Dream Acres: behind the scenes
* Visit the Dream Acres microsite
Making the dream come alive
The creative team
Jonathan Myles-Lea, an artist, painted the 3D version of the estate’s design. ‘For the painting of Dream Acres, I used the sweep of the main drive to lead the eye to the house, and then on to the stream at the end of the lawn. I wanted to make the composition as dynamic as possible so that the viewer’s eye travels through the picture—as if they were taking a stroll through the garden’
Landscape designer Arabella Lennox-Boyd is the creator of Dream Acres Jonathan Self, a writer, explains how to realise the dream for yourself. To produce the perfect estate and its components, we assembled the best possible creative team to design, describe and depict Dream Acres
Arabella Lennox-Boyd
Of Italian birth, Arabella has been a landscape designer for more than 30 years, designing six Gold-Medal-winning gardens for the Chelsea Flower Show, including the winner of the Best Garden Award in 1998. Her projects include gardens at Ascott House, Berkshire, and Eaton Hall, Cheshire; roof gardens in London and Hong Kong; and a garden and park in Dallas, Texas. Arabella also served as a trustee of Kew Gardens for nine years, and has written three books, Traditional English Gardens, Private Gardens of London, and Designing Gardens. She has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Design (HonDDes) by the University of Greenwich, the Premio Firenze Donna prize in Italy, and the Torsanlorenzo International Prestige Prize.
Jonathan Self
One of Country Life’s most established contributors, and the author of our On the Money column, Jonathan Self is also the author of The Teenager’s Guide to Money and his autobiography, Self Abuse. He sits on the Council of the World Land Trust and lives in Cork, where he has built his stables by hand.
Jonathan Myles-Lea
An English-born painter, Jonathan is known principally for his highly detailed oil paintings (occasionally using a single hair to apply paint) and drawings of notable country houses and landscapes. Since 1992, he has executed more than 60 commissions across 10 countries, including The Laskett for Sir Roy Strong, Blickling Hall, three views of Burghley House, Somerleyton Hall, Daylesford House and Highgrove, commissioned by The Prince of Wales. Jonathan has also created portraits for Evelyn H. Lauder (of Estée Lauder) and Miranda Rock. His work has been exhibited at Sotheby’s and the British Library, and, in 1997, Jonathan was named a Living National Treasure in Country Life.
* For more Dream Acres and to find out how to create your own Dream Acres please see our microsite which explains how to create your perfect landscape, gardens and outdoor spaces
