Победитель конкурса «Самые красивые сады мира-2026» создал геометрический парк в Йоркширских далях

Ian Kitson grew up in the countryside north of London—land of undulating hills and upland meadows—where he and his partner, Julie Toll, would venture on weekend breaks from their busy garden design business in the city. On one outing, they happened upon a circa-1680 farmhouse, with crumbling dry stone walls and bountiful wildflower meadows, up for sale. “We fell in love,” Kitson says. “After living on Baker Street for 30 years, I fancied having a go out in the country.” They also fancied creating a more intentional plan on the rambling 30 acres. “The place gets under your skin. As garden designers, we felt obliged,” he explains, though their expertise didn’t make it easier. After hundreds of sketches, they settled on a free-form array of serpentine walls, a pond, and raised elliptical lawns—a geometric design that, laser-cut on steel gates, doubles as contemporary art. “The garden connects the house with the larger rural landscape,” says Toll, the plant expert of the two, who based selections on “what works within the larger ecology.” Roses, perennials, and pollinators populate beds near the house; new curving dry stone walls, true to traditional Yorkshire Dales craftsmanship, wander down sloping meadows. Swaths of unmown grass sway with abandon, while around 60 different wildflower species inhabit the meadows. “We want nature to do its thing,” Toll says. In a walled oval plot, however, a hawthorn tree has been cloud pruned. “I liked the idea of a stylized, controlled natural tree,” Kitson says. Designing for themselves rather than for a client, he adds, “has been more an art exercise.” The shapes are intentional, the lawn edges precise, and the eye always drawn to the broader vista. “You can’t walk around this garden without half your optic nerves taking in that big landscape.” 2026 World's Most Beautiful Gardens winner. This article was originally featured in the July/August 2026 issue of VERANDA. Produced by Grace Haynes Wall; written by Stephanie Hunt. Stephanie Hunt is a Charleston, SC-based freelance writer who covers design, lifestyle, and travel for VERANDA and other titles. A native of High Point, NC, furniture and design is her family DNA, though, admittedly, she's better at fluffing prose than pillows. The author of At Home in the South and Simply Chic (Hearst Books), Stephanie also writes environmental stories, personality profiles and reported features for a number of publications, including Charleston Magazine, where she is editor at large. A graduate of Duke University and Vanderbilt Divinity School, she loves reading, bicycling, and welcomes fashion tips from her three grown daughters.