Date:  February 29, 2024  |   Story: Rebekah Hall Scott  |   Photography: Rett Peek  |  

In Little Rock, Ashley Childers imbues her outdoor living spaces with English-inspired appeal

A passion for gardening and hosting inspired interior designer Ashley Childers to add an outdoor living space and English-style garden to her family home in Little Rock. “We love all four seasons in Arkansas, and I’m grateful we live in a climate where we can experience all of them,” she says. “My husband and I really love to garden together, so we wanted to create a little oasis for ourselves—something that we could enjoy all year-round.”

Ashley and her husband, Garrett, who is a contractor, wanted the addition to their home to include a covered area with an outdoor kitchen, fireplace, and living space with plenty of room for their frequent guests. “We have large families who all live in Little Rock, so we host a lot of birthday parties, graduations, showers, and football games,” Ashley says. “It was all about maximizing the outdoor space for what we like to do, which is grill out, cook, and spend time together.”

A designer in numerous realms from furniture and lighting to jewelry, Ashley first learned to garden with her grandmother, who passed on her love of nature. “She was a prolific gardener,” Ashley says. In addition to living on farmland in the Delta, Ashley’s grandmother also grew vegetables and flowers in her leisure. “I grew up working in the garden with her, and I think that really fostered my love for it,” she adds.

While visiting London to move her daughter for graduate school, Ashley found she was captivated by a trip to Hidcote Gardens in the Cotswolds. “It was in September, so everything was still in bloom, and I’d never seen anything like that,” Ashley says. “The way they plant is so different from anywhere else—it’s so abundant and overgrown, and I love that look.”

Ashley incorporated this cottage sensibility in her new garden by creating pea gravel pathways among cedar raised beds stained in the same blue-gray shade seen on the windows of their home. “I love beautiful wood tones, but I knew we would have that within some of the outdoor furniture, so I really wanted to keep the continuity of the bluish-gray shade in all of the cedar we used,” she says. “We used a transparent stain, so the texture and grain of the wood shows through.”

The outdoor living area has become Ashley and Garrett’s favorite part of their home, one that they look forward to enjoying for years to come. “We hope this encourages others to create something beautiful for themselves,” Ashley says. “We love to share it with family and friends, but especially for my husband and I, it’s our special place.”

Hydrangea Haven
A bistro table and chairs provide a simple perch for enjoying the garden’s bounty, while string lights bring magic in the evening hours. ‘Limelight’ hydrangeas, ‘Japanese snowball’ viburnum, ‘Korean spice’ viburnum, and ‘Skyscraper Pink’ salvia fill the space with life and color. “I just love flower gardening,” Ashley says. “It’s a daily ritual of mine, especially in the spring and summer, to go out into the garden, get in touch with nature, ground myself, and cut a couple of blooms to bring inside. It starts my day in a way that is creative and intentional.”

“Being able to have rotating gardens and try something new each season is a fun experiment for me.”
—Ashley Childers

Room to Gather
A sturdy wicker sectional sofa with cushions in Sunbrella fabric provides ample seating for Ashley and Garrett’s guests. “We can fit an army of people on that thing, and we have,” she says. “It’s just so fun to pile up out there, and a lot of people also end up sitting on the hearth attached to the fireplace. That was my goal: to seat everyone comfortably, and for everyone to have a place to engage in conversation.”

English Inspired
The outdoor kitchen’s cast concrete sink mimics a marble version Ashley saw in London at The Petersham restaurant. “They had the most unique, shallow marble sink, and I fell in love with it,” she says. “I recreated it in cast concrete, and it’s great for watering my plants. It’s really practical to have out here because it’s hard-wearing, but so beautiful.” Cedar open shelving and an under-sink cabinet are stained in the same blue-gray shade as the raised beds and wood trim. Wicker hampers tucked under the leathered granite countertop conceal galvanized steel bins filled with potting soil.

White delphinium crowns over smaller pots of scaevola, white vinca, asparagus fern, and Swedish ivy.

Lush Landscape
Ashley installed raised beds among pea gravel pathways to create a sense of cottage charm and provide easy access to plants. “Being able to have rotating gardens and try something new each season is a fun experiment for me, and the raised beds let me do that,” she says. “And of course, it also gives us that English garden feel.”

‘Limelight’ Hydrangeas

‘Skyscraper Pink’ Salvia

Sculptural Seating
When selecting the woven S-chairs for the covered dining area, Ashley kept style and function in mind. “Comfort was important to me, but I did want something more sculptural. I love adding unexpected interest when possible, especially through the shape of furniture,” she says. In addition, these wicker selections will stand the test of time while exposed to the elements. “In Arkansas, you really have to be careful about your choice of outdoor furniture because there’s just such humidity and a range of weather.”

Curated Containers
Here, a ‘Limelight’ hydrangea tree in a large concrete planter stands tall in the center of the garden. Smaller pots of various shapes and sizes burst with scaevola, also known as fan flower, as well as white vinca and lavender miniature petunias. The garden’s planters contribute to the space’s low-maintenance feel while also providing necessary function. “I love container gardening; I think it’s a great opportunity to change things seasonally and try things out,” Ashley says. “It adds that layer of English cottage charm, and it’s a beautiful way to accessorize your garden.”

Design Resources
Contractor Garrett Childers, Childers Co. Interior Design Ashley Childers, Ashley Childers Home Brick Antique Brick & Block Outdoor furnishings Ashley Childers Home Plantings River Valley Horticulture