The Thomas Gainsborough Garden – Frederic Whyte, RHS Sandringham Flower Show 2026
What's the buzz?
The poetry of the garden
Where light lands
The Approach
I had the pleasure of photographing Frederic Whyte's show garden at the inaugural RHS Sandringham Flower Show. The garden was like a playground for me, and I completely lost myself in capturing every corner of it.
Created in partnership with Gainsborough's House in Sudbury, the garden celebrates the life and work of painter Thomas Gainsborough, ahead of the tercentenary of his birth in 2027. The design draws on Gainsborough's own paintings of the Suffolk landscape — a soft, painterly palette of pastel pinks and yellows, naturalistic planting in greens and blues, and silver birch trees that echo his brushwork. A specimen tree even nods to the 400-year-old mulberry tree at Gainsborough's House itself.
Show gardens are a photographer's dream and a challenge at the same time. Every element has been carefully considered by the designer, and my job was to find the angles, light and moments that brought those decisions to life.
Photographing a garden built around the idea of "gardens as works of art" felt particularly fitting. I moved between wide shots capturing the overall composition and rhythm of the space, and close-up details — the softness of the pastel blooms, the naturalistic planting, and the small design choices easily missed by a visitor walking past.
My aim was to capture not just what the garden looked like, but what it felt like to stand inside it — the atmosphere, the craftsmanship, the poetry, and the artistic soul that had clearly gone into every element.
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