Niwaki and Friar Park is the wholesome gardening collab we really needed

Located in Henley-on-Thames, Friar Park has a mysterious energy. Fans of The Beatles may know it as the home of the late George Harrison, where he and his family resided. Harrison purchased the Victorian neo-Gothic estate in 1970, when it was overgrown and needed some serious care. It is now managed by his son Dhani Harrison – also a musician, and co-head of Dark Horse Records – who has helped to maintain the private land.

Perfectly pruned, yet outrageously wild, the gardens are managed to the highest order, not for anyone to see, but for the joy of gardening. It is no surprise that premium gardening tool and accessories brand Niwaki decided to partner with Dhani, who continues to reside at Friar Park and maintain its legacy.

Discover the Niwaki x Friar Park collaboration

‘It's a very well-known, but completely unseen garden,’ explains Jake Hobson, founder of Niwaki. ‘Everyone's heard about it: it's got this incredible topiary garden, which is very English, with a baroque intensity. But then it's got this very beautiful Japanese garden a few minutes away from it. It's that contrast between the two that makes the place so special.’

Hobson became close with Dhani after the latter consistently frequented the brand’s London, Chiltern Street store. ‘We had a shared – passion isn't the right word – I think obsession with Japan, with gardens, and with the pleasure of being involved in gardens, working in gardens, living with gardens, and seeing gardens. The collaboration is kind of a fusion of Japan and England, which made perfect sense,’ Hobson tells Wallpaper* over a call on a hazy autumnal morning.

Dhani agrees. ‘I am extremely addicted to the Niwaki brand,’ he shares. ‘I use it because I’m a maker and I like to build – I don’t just use the topiary tools, but the chisels, the wood planes, the whittling knives, the axes, ladders, gaiters, tabi boots: you name it, I use it. Because I spent so much time in the store, I eventually became friends with the team there, and Jake and I started talking, and it turns out we got on very well, and that’s how the whole thing came about, from a friendship.’

The collection includes a Meditation Jacket, inspired by Niwaki’s Kojima Work Jacket. It features long tails and a hood, and has a cloak-like quality, and was inspired by Dhani’s love of meditating in the estate’s Japanese garden. Hoods are often used in meditation to increase inward focus and block out distractions.

Meditation is as much a part of Dhani’s life as is music, as he tells Wallpaper*: ‘I listen to the same thing over and over throughout the seasons – the same piece of flute music or the same piece of choral music. I’ll use the music as a meditation through the garden every day, whether it’s rain or shine. I think it’s important to listen to the same thing if it’s something that moves you, so you can experience the consistency of the spirit through the passing of time – it’s quite an interesting experiment. I’ve been listening a lot to Canyon Trilogy by Carlos R Nakai, which is a record we put out on vinyl for the first time this year on Dark Horse Records.’

The collaboration’s colour palette is inspired by the maroon of the Acer Palmatum tree when it turns in autumn. ‘This is such a prominent colour in Friar Park,’ says Dhani. ‘There is a week every year where it just becomes fire – you have that whole spectrum of maroon, through to fire red and yellow.’

The collection also includes a Kojima Jacket and Rucksack. There are also essential pruning tools, including Garden Shears and a Karikomi Holster, the Hori Hori Pro, Higurashi Secateurs and Moku Pruning Saw, in Japanese carbon steel. Keen gardeners wishing to purchase the full collection can also opt for the Friar Park x Niwaki Tool Bag, a gift set that brings all these tools together, plus a Cap, Lunch Bag and an exclusive George Harrison vinyl.

‘Japanese design is, for want of a better word, perfect’, says Dhani. ‘Jake said to me that all of these products come from individual Japanese artisans, and chances are there are only two people working at these companies, like a father and son, who have been doing it for generations, and that’s the one thing they focus on, so the skill level is very high. It’s almost too hard to explain, but Japan, as a concept, is probably the most inspirational thing in my life. If I had to [put it in] one word, it’s the mindfulness.’

While Dhani may describe Japanese design as ‘perfect’, can a garden ever be? Hobson notes, ‘There was a joke in English society gardening, that the three things you need are the three M's (money, muck, and muscle), to make a perfect garden. I don't think any of that counts. It's the passion and the personality of the person involved with the garden. A garden is never finished, and that's how a garden can live through generations.’

The Friar Park x Niwaki collection is available in limited quantities from Niwaki Chiltern Street, London; Niwaki HQ in Semley, Dorset; and niwaki.com from 12 October 2026