“After training as a Garden Designer at Merrist Wood College, followed by a Postgraduate Diploma at The Oxford College of Garden Design I set up my own design practice and over the last 27 years I have designed many gardens from small city spaces to the gardens of large country houses. I am a Registered Member of the Society of Garden Designers and have had my work published in The Garden Design Journal and one of my gardens has appeared on TV in the series The Garden Makers.
In 2014 I completed a Masters in Landscape Architecture at Kingston University and I worked in practice as a Chartered Landscape Architect, on a range of projects from designing private gardens to landscape proposals for housing, schools, a sports centre, a new football stadium and a cemetery. I also developed the planting strategy for a 1.5 km park in Hove and rain gardens in Aylesbury. Work involves the design and production of drawings for planning applications, Landscape Visual Impact Assessments and contract administration. I collaborate closely with Architects, Engineers, Ecologists, Arboricultural Consultants and Contractors. My responsibility is to protect, conserve and enhance the landscape, so I am always designing with native as well as ornamental plants. As a keen Beekeeper, I am particularly passionate about planting for pollinators.
Alongside my work with OCA, I am currently working as a freelance landscape architect and designer, which currently includes domestic gardens and a cancer therapy garden for a hospital charity. I also mentor newly qualified designers for the Society of Garden Designers – I really enjoy helping and seeing people develop their skills.
I’m very excited about teaching with the OCA – making sustainable and ecologically responsible design choices is an important part of any landscape or garden design and I’m keen to share my experience and help new designers make robust design choices. I believe education is a chance to explore design options and push student’s concepts and creative boundaries but equally, designing and building a garden comes with a responsibility to manage client’s expectations, financial budgets and health and safety. There’s a lot to learn! Garden design requires a range of skills and so it’s a career accessible to students with varied backgrounds and abilities. Nothing beats the satisfaction of seeing a garden you designed grow or a community enjoying the space you designed”.