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Designer and author Charlotte Moss has described the making of her Virginia garden, where a linked series of rills and pools forms the central feature. She says memories of European gardens, including Rousham in England and Eyrignac in France, informed the design, alongside personal memories of her grandmother’s irises.
The account, published by Homes and Gardens, also describes the landscape as a place for entertaining and quiet use. The report does not provide a publication date for Moss’s comments or detailed information about the garden’s construction.
Interior designer and author Charlotte Moss has shared how she shaped her Virginia garden around a water feature inspired by European gardens and her own travel memories, in an account published by Homes and Gardens. The landscape’s central feature is a sequence of rills, a pool and a round basin, set among trees and planting; Moss says the garden is also designed for gathering, dining and spending time outdoors.
Moss said the property originally had a small fenced garden, mainly planted with peonies, flowers and herbs, while much of the rest of the landscape was wooded. She described removing some old trees and adding magnolias, sycamores, large boxwoods and apple trees as part of a broader redesign. The work also included an all-green parterre near the home’s flower room and expanded paved areas for sitting and entertaining.
The water feature is arranged in connected sections: an upper rill runs to a main pool, then to a lower rill that ends at a round basin with an obelisk. Moss said she wanted the water to create both movement and sound, with tall copper beech trees and grasses framing the route. The beech trees were selected to contrast with other trees in the landscape and to give height near the lower part of the garden.
Several planting and architectural details draw directly on places Moss visited. She connected the rill to Rousham Gardens in Oxfordshire and other European examples. Espaliered apple and pear trees against the house recall a garden in France, while the iris garden’s brick paths, limestone columns and chain-supported climbing roses were inspired by Eyrignac in the Dordogne. Moss said the arrangement makes a boundary that invites visitors in rather than keeping them away.
A Garden Built for Sound and Gathering
The account shows how a private garden can bring together design references, personal memory and practical use without treating them as separate concerns. Moss describes the water as a defining element not only for its appearance but for the sound it adds to the landscape. That emphasis helps explain why the rill became the centre of the Virginia garden rather than a decorative addition.
The landscape is also intended to support everyday use and social occasions. Moss said a stone sofa beside the central pool and a terrace for dining and drinks make the garden workable for guests, while benches and other secluded spots give people places to sit alone or in company. Her comments offer readers a specific example of how movement, sound, seating and planting can shape how an outdoor space is experienced.
Her account also makes clear that the garden’s European influences are personal rather than presented as a single formal style. Moss said memories from travel surface naturally in her design choices. The story’s interest lies in that mix: familiar references are adapted to a Virginia property and combined with family memories, including the irises associated with her maternal grandmother.
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From European Visits to Virginia
Moss said her approach to the Virginia property developed from the limits of its original landscape: a small enclosed garden and a wooded setting that she felt needed to be altered. The redesign involved both planting and structure, including new trees, hardscaping, a parterre and places for people to gather. The published account presents these changes through Moss’s own explanations rather than as a dated construction history.
Her references include Rousham Gardens in Oxfordshire, Eyrignac in southwestern France and the Keukenhof gardens in the Netherlands. Moss recalled that her husband drew her attention to the sound of water at Keukenhof while they were visiting to see the tulips. She later added a water feature to a garden in East Hampton, she said, and the combination of that experience with seeing rills at Rousham led her to make water central to the Virginia design.
Not all the garden’s meaning comes from travel. Moss described her grandmother’s irises as a lasting memory and recalled learning to appreciate the impact of a single flower. That recollection connects the garden’s iris beds to a family story, while the flower room and adjoining green parterre link the outdoor landscape to the home.
“The visual memories from my travels are inescapable.”
— Charlotte Moss, in the Homes and Gardens account
Details the Account Does Not Give
The published material does not specify when the Virginia garden was designed or completed, how long the work took, or which designers, landscape architects or contractors took part. It also does not provide a full planting plan, construction costs or details on how the water feature is maintained. Those points cannot be established from Moss’s account alone.
The source describes Moss’s inspirations and intentions, but does not independently document the property’s history or assess how the garden has changed over time. The account also does not give a precise location beyond identifying the property as being in Virginia. Its comments about the garden’s atmosphere and use are Moss’s descriptions, not measured findings.
No Further Plans Announced
The source material does not identify a forthcoming project, opening or additional announcement tied to the garden. For now, the published account stands as Moss’s description of the landscape and the memories behind it. No next milestone is specified; further details about the property or future changes would require a separate announcement or reporting.
Key Questions
What is the central feature of Charlotte Moss’s Virginia garden?
A linked series of rills and pools forms the garden’s centrepiece, ending in a round basin with an obelisk. Moss said the water was intended to add sound and movement.
Which European gardens influenced the design?
Moss cited Rousham Gardens in Oxfordshire as an influence on the rill and Eyrignac in France as inspiration for the chain-supported rose boundary in the iris garden. She also recalled noticing water sounds at Keukenhof in the Netherlands.
What personal memory is connected to the iris garden?
Moss said her maternal grandmother grew irises. She remembered her grandmother placing a single iris in a vase and later came to appreciate the effect of one flower.
How is the garden used for entertaining?
Moss described a stone sofa beside the central pool and a terrace used for dining or drinks. She also said the garden includes places intended for sitting alone or with other people.
When was the garden created?
The Homes and Gardens account does not give a design or completion date, nor a timeline for the work.
Source: homesandgardens.com
