Making scents of Tarrant Keyneston
Louise Bliss follows her nose to a fragrant spot in the Tarrant Valley
Published in June ’18
In use until 1925, a 19th-century flour mill and wisteria-clad house have been transformed into the heart of Britain’s largest private botanical gardens, specialising in aromatic and scented plants and home to fine fragrance company Parterre. The fifty-acre estate was acquired by Julia and David Bridger in 2015 when, despite the fertile soil, river, south-facing fields and natural element breakers that the site possessed, it required a huge amount of work and redesigning. The botanical gardens are now open for the general public to visit. The interesting and tranquil themed spaces are a work-in-progress; they
reflect the scents that are found in perfumes and change constantly with the seasons and through experiments.
Air tight glass-stoppered bottles hold in the heady scents of the crops of the botanicals grown at Tarrant Keyneston
The Padua garden is named for and based on a 16th-century blueprint for one of the earliest botanical garden recorded, with plants such as rose, geranium, jasmine, tuberose and frangipani. A sunken garden – which is home to plants such as cumin, cardamom and vetiver that are cultivated to produce spicy oriental ingredients – is inspired by the Russian artist, Kandinsky.
Ferns and palms can be found in the Fougère garden, a contemporary space created to represent fougère fragrances (a blend of herbaceous and woody scents) derived from plant varieties like lavender, coumarin and oak moss. A Bridget Riley-inspired garden and the planting of a scented woodland are amongst many plans for the Mill’s gardens.
Julia and David have a passion for gardens, fine fragrances and the arts. But having a passion and turning it into a commercially successful reality are two wholly separate things. The adventure from initial thoughts of how to grow plants, cut flowers and herbs changed during a trip to the south of France. A visit to Grasse and its museum gardens inspired them to consider combining their interests in plants and fragrances.
The first planting of The first planting of Lemon Balm at Keyneston Mill
From the beginning Julia had plans to open a café and patisserie and head chef Danny Durose and team apply French ideas to British produce, using Keyneston Mill’s herbs and plants to create unique dishes and drinks: lunches infused with juniper, Florentines with angelica and cocktails and mocktails made from geranium and vetiver cordial are all on the Scented Botanist menu.
One of the Bridgers’ missions is to grow the most unusual plants they can source and to date they have over 2000 in their collection. One of the biggest challenges facing the team is to plant the right crops at the right time. In 2016 they planted fifteen different plants in the crop fields with the intention of creating scents to be part of a limited edition collection of eaux de parfums; Run of the River, Root of All Goodness and A Tribute to Edith are now sold at Fortnum and Masons. After a lot of detailed analysis, forty plants were chosen for the 2018 crop programme.
The Mills café, where tempting aromas of a different variety may be enjoyed
Head gardener Stuart Neilson and botanist Nanette Wraith have cleverly designed public gardens that are chemistry laboratories in disguise. Plants are trialled in these public pleasure gardens and are scrutinised to see if they pass the grade to gain crop status and to be part of a group of plants that are chosen for their aroma. Perfume consultant Virginie Daniau –president of the British Perfume Society – was responsible for introducing the Keyneston team to Master Parfumier Jacques Chabert, one of the leading ‘noses’ in the world.
A unique part of the Keyneston Mill experience is for visitors to witness how the plants and flowers grown on site are distilled to create their fragrances. Zohra Khaliq, head of botanical extracts, and David both talk about the different extraction methods that can been seen on display and how the distillery is a great exhibition space to learn about the ‘seed to bottle’ process. They are growing some plants for the first time here in the UK and there are no guidelines to measure data against, so are having to develop their own standards.
Passion, enthusiasm and innovation are the guiding principles of this Dorset company where pushing the boundaries is simply normal.
For more information and visiting times visit www.parterreatkeynestonmill.com
