Aside from being a busy mum of four young children, overseeing the running of Cromlix hotel with her husband Andy Murray, managing a major refurbishment of the entire property last year, and supporting her husband’s tennis career, Kim Murray is also a passionate gardener.
So, when Sarah heard that Kim was a fan of the Sarah Raven catalogue, she had so many questions to ask about her inspirations, favourite varieties, and so much more.
Sarah and Kim are also working on a standout perennial tulip collection, which features beautiful peach, orange and crimson varieties grown partly at Perch Hill and partly in Kim’s own garden.
Q&A with Kim Murray
As a long-time fan, and regular Sarah Raven customer, Kim is a passionate gardener and also an amateur florist. Having grown up in the countryside, Kim encourages her own family to spend time in the great outdoors. She has lovingly created a beautiful outside space, dedicating a spot to cut flowers and kitchen garden patch – both of which, are jam-packed with SR collections and varieties. For Kim, the brand is aspirational and inspirational.
Gardening can take all shapes and forms, from outdoor spaces to patio pots and containers. Where do you garden right now?
We live in Surrey, where we were fortunate enough to build our forever home around three years ago. It is home to us, our children, our chickens, and our dog too.
I’m also quite new to gardening, in fact, I’m actually a total amateur, but I’m lucky enough to have a good team around me to help.
It’s clear that you love to grow and display cut flowers, how did you discover this passion?
I’m a bit like a magpie, I love to gather beautiful things. So, that’s probably where my connection with gardening started. I’ve always loved cut flowers and my mum is very green-fingered, so she was always growing and cutting as we grew up.
But as a young adult, I really started finding enjoyment in arranging flowers. It’s the idea of creating something. I used to paint, many moons ago, and loved art. It’s the same principle really, making something that looks beautiful. It’s visually pleasing and stimulating on a sensory level.
My love language is dropping a bunch of cut flowers on a friend’s doorstep. It’s the idea of growing something outside, bringing them inside, and presenting them in a very different way. It really is a passion.
What was your introduction to gardening?
I would say through my granny, who has always grown the most amazing sweet peas. So, that was something that I had a real fascination with from a really young age. They are my favourite thing to grow.
I grew up outside, and now as a mum of four, that’s something I’m really passionate about. I want the children to be outside, running around, and having a real appreciation for the environment they are growing up in.
Are their any signs that your children are interested in gardening?
Like all small children, they are really interested in whatever you’re doing. To watch them watch the garden evolve is wonderful.
What role does your garden take in your life?
It’s pivotal to my everyday life. I’m always up, whether it’s sorting the chickens out, or in the greenhouse, just charging around, chasing my children, who are usually out there too. I really want to encourage them to have an appreciation for the outdoors. It’s trying to make it as appealing as I can for them. So, whether that’s sowing seeds in the greenhouse, or having sunflower competitions, they definitely take interest.
Do you have a favourite plant?
Well, I’ve mentioned sweet peas. The smell, it’s evocative, really nostalgic, and reminds me of my granny. Roses, I love them, and you can never have too many.
There are things I also have a real appreciation for since we planted up the garden, that I probably wasn’t aware of before. Alchemilla Mollis, nepeta, and gorgeous other things that I would use as fillers in arrangements. They tumble over your borders and edges, in a really romantic, wafty way.
Are there any areas of the garden you are particularly attracted to?
I’ve got, what I call, my kitchen garden. Which is very cottagey, right outside our kitchen. It’s got amazing roses, delphiniums, and lupins, and is quite Beatrix Potter-inspired.
We also have the rest of our lawn, designed by Chris Moss, our amazing landscape designer who works with us. We’re so lucky to be close to RHS Wisley, so that inspired a lot of our planting scheme. It’s that incredible use of perennials, the swathes and grasses that then hold interest all the way through the seasons. And in the winter, the frosty seed heads that are really relaxing and calming.
We also have a random bit, around the back of one of the buildings. The ‘rose graveyard’ - where we would put all the roses, we didn’t have space for in the main garden. It’s now turned into this amazing rose garden with verbena and scabious too.
As you go through the Sarah Raven catalogue, is there a particular palette you are drawn to?
I always seem to notice that purples seem to pop out early on, and then throughout the course of the year, the colours get deeper and stronger. Everything grabs your eye, the lilacs and whites, and then by the time the dahlias come out, you’re ready for something a bit bolder.
When it comes to tulips, I love the strong jewel tones, and I like that in interiors too. I like pairing unusual combinations. But you can’t beat a peach or light pink rose.
Can you tell us about Cromlix, your hotel in Scotland?
It’s just outside Dunblane, where Andy was brought up, and we purchased the hotel 10 years ago. It was an emotional decision, as it’s a venue where a lot of Andy’s family have had celebrations over the years. We decided recently that it needed a bit of a change of direction, so after having babies and designing the house, I thought I would love to get my hands on it. It’s the most amazing setting and we could never look away from the connection to home and its locality.
The whole process has been eye opening, educational, and a challenge at times. I’ve been involved in running every bit of it, but the really fun bit has been the interiors. We closed for a few months and refurbished at the beginning of last year. We’ve been so inspired by the outside.
We’ve always had a large garden there and we do a lot with the kitchen, straight from the garden. We have a wonderful gardener called Sarah, and when we got together and started thinking about the sort of direction we wanted to go in, we both loved cut flowers, and now we can do this onsite.
