For some, fashion and gardening may seem like an unlikely combination; after all, you wouldn’t wear expensive designer brand clothing whilst knee-deep in compost and bedding in your new rose bush. However, at the Garden Museum in London, the Fashion and Gardens exhibition demonstrates that there is a strong link between the two, going back hundreds of years.

Fashion designers and gardeners both work to a seasonal cycle; while outside the weather is only just creeping towards spring, both will have already been thinking ahead and working on what they hope to bring out not only in summer, but beyond into autumn and next winter too. Added to that is the way that our senses combine to create an impression of the season; we instinctively turn to bright, zesty colours in spring, and warm russets in autumn to match the changing colours of our gardens and natural environments.

Gardens are reflected in fashion not only in the colour palettes but also in designs. Back in the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages, clothes were embellished with delicate floral designs and knotwork patterns that reflected the formal gardens of the era, and today modern designers like Valentino and Alexander McQueen have frequently turned to the flowers in their gardens for inspiration.

At the same time, fashion is reflected in gardens, too. Early greenhouses allowed the high society of the nineteenth century to grow blocks of colourful, exotic plants, which were followed by a trend towards colour blocks in fashion; with new dyes from India, Latin America and Africa. When bright colours became accessible to all in both fashion and gardening, both turned towards a trend for pure white.

Today, both fashion and gardening have distinct trends, and their own shows to advertise them to their followers; while fashionistas look forward to London Fashion Week, gardeners empty their diaries for the Chelsea Flower Show, and television shows highlight the latest trends, the must-have brands and the top techniques for both.

Of course, just as creating a stylish outfit requires not only the right clothes but the right accessories, creating a stylish garden needs the right plant choices combined with the right furniture to allow you to make the most of it. Here at Verdon Grey, we pay as much attention to the style of our luxury outdoor furniture as we do to the construction, giving you garden furniture that is long lasting, comfortable and visually appealing, with contemporary designs to match any garden style.

The Fashion and Gardens exhibition at the Garden Museum runs until the 27^th April 2014.