"The Poets Wife
2024

i was a thought
i was a seed in the ground
i was a line in your poem
i was the morning dew on your cuff
the poet’s wife
by any other name
the eternal inspiration
of lovers and romantics
the delicate head of beauty nods
in the wind as the last petal falls
i was a story
i was bud newly open
i was a bloom in your garden
i was the poet’s wife


This Artwork was captured and inspired at the botanically signified Borde Hill Garden in West Sussex. Over the last 130 years, five generations of the Stephenson Clarke Family have been committed to protecting and enhancing Borde Hill’s significant collection of plants, trees and shrubs. With both historical and cultural heritage as far back as 1598 when the house was built by Stephen Borde, the grandson of Henry VIII’s private herbalist and physician Andrew Borde. The artwork tells the story of the garden’s rich heritage, the hundreds of letters that were written over the years to source seeds and protect the gardens and the inspirations it has served in art and conservation. The yellow David Austin Roses also featured in the artwork, are named ‘The Poet’s Wife’ and lent their name to the title of the piece. The blooms were harvested straight from the Jay Robin’s Rose Garden
Designed by RHS gold medal winner Robin Williams in 1996 and named after Andrewjohn and Eleni Stephenson Clarke’s daughter."