About
I am a landscape architect with interests in sustainable design, planting design and historic landscapes and gardens.
My background
After reading English at Cambridge University, I worked as a journalist and copywriter before returning to my longstanding interest in landscapes and gardens. I worked as a gardener, then trained as a garden designer at the Inchbald School of Design, gaining a Diploma with distinction in Garden Design. I went on to research a Masters dissertation on ecologically inspired planting design, while I gained professional experience with Schoenaich Rees, a landscape architecture practice specialising in innovative planting design.
I went on to work for Modular Garden, a London-based design and build landscaping company, for three years. As client manager I was responsible for managing construction teams and client liason on several private garden projects across London and the southeast of England. I also gained hands-on experience of plants and planting by working at Orchard Dene Nurseries, a leading specialist in herbaceous plants based in Oxfordshire.
In 2008 I completed a Masters in Landscape Architecture with merit from Sheffield University. I worked for the landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith as an assistant landscape architect, before starting my own landscape architecture practice in 2010. I am a part-time lecturer in the School of Architecture and Construction at Greenwich University, teaching Planting Design and Historic Garden Conservation to undergraduate students.
My approach
I believe that successful landscape design is about creating places for people which are useful, sustainable and beautiful. This means that they fulfil the purpose for which they are designed; that they use resources wisely and conserve natural life; and that they provide pleasure for the people who use them
I’m passionately interested in opportunities to use plants in interesting and innovative ways in landscapes. In particular, I’m interested in planting design informed by our emerging understanding of the way that plant communities grow and develop over time in natural and semi natural landscapes. By using plants in this way, it is possible to create highly attractive landscapes for people and wildlife. Such planting often has less intensive (but more intelligent) maintenance needs.
I take an ecological and artistic approach to planting design. This means that I select species appropriate to the ecological ‘niche’ that each place represents, and combine them into a composition with lasting appeal over time. I am particularly interested in new ways of combining plants and architecture, like green roofs and living walls.