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Luxury garden swing seats and other oddities
Alexandra Tolstoy
A mile or so down a country lane bordered by hedgerows and coppices, far from the bustle of the A420, is a cluster of old farm dwellings. One of these is home to Alexandra Tolstoy, her three teenage children and sweet dog Gnipper. It is a fairytale cottage of Cotswold stone with apple green windows and clambering roses.
We were welcomed by Alexandra with Gnipper in one arm and a cake made by her daughter in the other. She ushered us down the garden, through a bed bursting with irises, geums and salvias, onto the lawn where the rocker sat basking in the evening sun.
The garden is small but impressive, echoing the charm of the cottage it surrounds. The beds are filled with all the things one might expect to find in an English cottage garden: foxgloves, euphorbia, thalictrum, alliums and hollyhocks. A wriggly tin shed built by Rollo Dunford-Wood sets the tone of a functioning family home that hasn’t surrendered beauty to modern practicalities.
Alexandra’s daughter Maria arrives and collapses on the quilt in front of the rocker to finish the last few pages of I Capture the Castle. She is closely followed by one of her older brothers who, taking the half term holiday seriously, stretches out on the rocker next to his mother, musing merrily about where his brother might have got to on his canoeing trip down the River Wye.
Despite the sleepy scene, with the slowly setting sun and the crops swaying lazily in the fields beyond, there is a vibrancy in the garden - a liveliness that radiates from Alexandra, and has been passed on to her children. We natter happily about school life, baking secrets, bike trips along the river, Krygyzstan, Corfu and all things in between. Pausing only to shovel more delicious cake into our mouths...
What drew you to this untouched part of Oxfordshire? You have found such a romantic corner of the world on the edge of the Cotswolds.
My parents live ten minutes down the road so it was a natural choice but the cottage, specifically, I was incredibly lucky to find – I used to hunt with Marcus Armytage (winner of the Grand National) and he was selling it and it was perfect timing for me. At the time I did not appreciate what a unique corner of Oxfordshire it is.
You have had your cottage for 20 years. What have you changed since you bought it? How has the garden evolved over time?
All the changes I have made have been restorative rather than modernising – I removed the modern plaster in favour of traditional lime plaster but other than that have not changed much. I love it just the way it is and would never want to expand it. I filled it with Welsh and English antiques when I first bought it and now if I move a single thing my children get very upset – they’re all old friends and the cottage has been such a point of stability in our lives! We made an outside little building into a bedroom and I got Rollo Dunford-Wood to build me the most brilliant reclaimed corrugated iron shed that looks like it’s always been there so these have added space in a way that doesn’t detract from the roots of the cottage as a humble farm worker’s home.
The garden on the other hand has massively evolved – when I bought it, it had wobbly concrete steps through a lawn bordered by a leylandii hedge and a ferret shed. I immediately put in the York stone path and over time changed the leylandii for beech and dug a border down the side of the path. This gets bigger every year as my gardener and I get more ideas! My children are worried that one day we’ll have no lawn left – my absolute dream would be to end up with a proper old fashioned cottage garden full of flowers and vegetables but let’s see…
Has there been a vintage year for your garden? Which plant are you most proud of?
Last summer was phenomenal – everything from the foxgloves to the peonies to the roses was at its absolute peak. This year has been far too dry but I love seeing how delicate nature is and how different the garden is every year – it’s the same on my travels to Kyrgyzstan where I ride through wild tulips, peonies, ranunculi or hollyhocks, depending on the specific conditions.
You have the most green-eye-making wriggly tin shed. What role does this play in the garden?
It’s given us an extra room and yet magically stolen no space from the garden! It was for my boys but is now doubling up as very useful storage while we have to move house in London.
We met two out of three of your children. What is a favourite day in the country for you all?
We love doing very little and not living to much of a timetable – we eat, walk, watch films, bicycle, go to the pub but don’t really see other people.
When you are in London do you feel a strong pull to the countryside or do you enjoy city life?
I absolutely love and need them both in equal measures!
You’ve spent your fair share of weeks under canvas, travelling the Silk Road and leading riding tours in Kyrgyzstan. What does being outdoors, in the wild, mean to you? Does the nomadic lifestyle appeal?
Yes, I have an intensely busy life full of responsibilities as a single working parent, and riding through Kyrgyzstan has always been my haven where I slow down and live purely for the day. There is no phone reception and I am forced to live at a slow pace, and I feel so alive and healthy being outdoors 24/7.
Kyrgyzstan looks like the most remarkable country. What makes it so dear to you?
The landscapes are the most phenomenal I have encountered, but there are plenty of beautiful places in the world – it’s the people who make it so special and their nomadic lifestyle. I have spent 25 years working with the same shepherds and they are family to me now – some of the kindest and wisest people in their philosophy of life that I know.
Can you tell us what comfort looks like on your travels there? We’ve seen some pictures of the incredible tented structures…
My trips are a journey, so each day we ride into a new camp – everything has been set up by my team as we ride through the mountains. I have a big mess tent and beautiful Uzbek tablecloths and china with oil lamps so we can have wonderful dinners under the stars, and my three cooks create the most amazing dishes from our back up truck. We are in such remote spots, but in comfort, although I like to keep a degree of simplicity because I think it’s important to feel completely immersed in nature. We swim in alpine rivers, have camp fires and ride through all weathers.
Do you enjoy coming home after being away or do you wish your travels were never-ending?
Yes, I do get excited to come home – I always want to see my children! And I get excited about new projects – I adore my work and always have evolving design collaborations and new trips planned.
Tell us more about your rocker design. You chose to incorporate antique textiles - what’s their story?
These are Uzbek and Russian roller print textiles from a dealer in Istanbul – they are typical of the Silk Road and very evocative of my Central Asian travels.
How do you imagine you will spend time on the rocker? Will you all be piled on eating cake and reading or will it become a place for you to have a moment of calm with a stiff drink?
Both! My daughter has already been busy occupying it and I am so excited for this summer – I think there might be some fights over it!
Will you be entertaining much this summer? What’s your go-to when friends come round?
Yes, I love having dinner parties in the cottage, and the days to ourselves. This summer I’ll be doing lots of coronation chicken and pavlova. Probably English champagne and maybe some Pimms.
Are there any memorable or special events that have taken place in your garden? Can you paint a picture for us?
Too many to list really – it’s been the most constant of our homes and the children have spent so much time playing in the garden, so I do feel very attached to it for all the memories.
Sweet Gnipper had no reservations about the comfort of the rocker. We like to think of our rockers as having your favourite sofa outside in your garden. What is the draw of the rocker for you?
It’s far more comfortable than any sofa!! To be able to sit outside looking at my favourite view up the field to the wood on the top of Marriage Hill in such comfort is the ultimate luxury.
You are a family of avid readers. What is on your list to tuck into on the rocker?
I adore Victorian literature – all those classics take me into another world and are the ultimate refrain from real life. My daughter has just finished ‘I Capture the Castle’ so looking for something similar for her and not sure the boys will be sitting still and
reading so much!
What are you most looking forward to this summer and beyond?
Relaxing – I’ve worked insanely hard this year and am having to move house in London so I’m really excited to spend long slow days at our cottage.
If you could travel with your rocker anywhere in the world, to any era, where would you take it?
I actually think it’s absolutely perfect where it is today!
Alexandra's rocker is an Old Rocker in Faded Red with sofa in Fox and inside walls in antique Uzbek textiles.
Photography by Maximilian Kindersley.
