Meet Our Ones To Watch: Top 10 Young Garden Designers

  • ones to watch

A budding group of fresh and exciting young landscaping talent is emerging in 2020 and they are making a major mark on the British landscaping industry.

Here we reveal our top 10 young garden designers to watch out for this year.

  • Rebekahphotographer.com

    Ula Maria
  • ula sanctuary garden

Ula Maria

An exciting new name in garden design, award-winning landscape architect Ula Maria has carved an enviable reputation in the industry. Originally from Lithuania, Ula attended the School of Fine Arts in her home country before moving to England in 2008, where she studied a BA and MA in Landscape Architecture at Birmingham City University.

Her meaningful designs and work in emotive garden spaces has earned her the Landscape Institute’s John Knight award. She was also the worthy winner of a gold medal at the RHS Young Designer of the Year in 2017, for her inspired garden, ‘Studio Unwired.’

Ula has become a well-known name in major landscape design and has worked on numerous prestigious projects across the UK, including the RHS Sanctuary Garden at Hampton Court, the Botanist’s Lab at Chester Zoo and a living forest installation at Liverpool Street Station, which is currently in progress.

www.ulamaria.com

  • ©️ Joanna Kossak

Tom Simpson

Since graduating with a distinction from the London College of Garden Design in 2016, Tom has gone on to win many coveted awards, including two RHS Gold Medals and the Society of Garden Designers Student Awards.

With a passion for bold curves and clean, crisp landscaping, Tom blends romantic planting and topiary forms into his contemporary designs.  A fan of natural materials, you will find wood, stone and water combined with textural planting in many of Tom’s projects.

www.tomsimpsondesign.com

  • thrift
  • thrift

Thrift Landscapes – Tessa and Caitlin McLaughlin

RHS award-winning garden designers Tessa and Caitlin McLaughlin consider the environmental impact and wildlife conservation when approaching any of their stunning designs.

Named in the “30 under 30” by Pro Landscaper Magazine, winners of the RIBA South Award, and named RHS Young Designers in 2016, these creative sisters are making a real name for themselves in the landscaping industry.  Thrift Landscapes is becoming well known for its unique concepts and for the sisters’ close creative collaboration with each of their clients.

www.thriftlandscapes.co.uk

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  • jamie butterworth design

Jamie Butterworth

A passionate gardener from the age of nine, Jamie Butterworth has built an impressive knowledge of plants and garden design. Now an RHS Ambassador, Jamie has worked on projects at RHS Wisley, as well as growing plants for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Now Managing Director of Butterworth Horticulture, Jamie leads a team of horticulturists, designers and tree surgeons, and is considered one one of the UK’s leading plantsmen. Jamie’s enthusiasm and passion for bringing beautiful gardens, quality plants and superior service to the industry means that he regularly contributes his expert opinion to BBC Radio London, Talk Radio and BBC Radio Berkshire.

www.butterworthhorticulture.co.uk

  • sophie walker
  • sophie walker garden

Sophie Walker Studio

Based in the UK, but working on an international basis, trailblazing Sophie has designed gardens for museums in the Netherlands, Haywards Heath, and Ulsan Park in Korea. In 2014, Sophie was named the youngest woman ever to design a garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show with Cave Pavillion, where she produced a ‘fully-traceable’ garden of previously unexhibited plants that had been grown entirely from seed collected in the wild.

Her work with rare and unusual plants has also seen her commissioned to design an NHS therapy garden in Chiswick, and she was included in the shortlisted teams for a new national Holocaust Memorial on the River Thames. When she isn’t designing, Sophie also lectures on conceptual garden design and on the Japanese garden.

www.sophiewalkerstudio.com

  • william scholey design
  • william scholey garden

William Scholey

Previously based a stone’s throw from Haddonstone’s head office in leafy Northamptonshire, William Scholey was sponsored with business partner, Jo Brinkman, to co-design the award-winning Haddonstone RHS Chatsworth Long Border in 2019. The sensory garden, A Sense of Heritage, took inspiration from “England’s Greatest Gardener”, Capability Brown – the border even featured a Haddonstone replica of Brown himself!

After graduating from Nottingham Trent University with a degree in Horticulture, William spent time working on the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii.  Aged just 24, William’s energising work has already been featured in many prestigious locations, incorporating planting that encourages wildlife, replicating woodland edge landscapes, and transforming urban spaces into tropical paradises.

www.scholeygardendesign.weebly.com

Flora Starkey

Bespoke floral designer Flora creates awe-inspiring arrangements and installations for fashion shows and concerts, placing a focus on seasonality. She often uses home-grown flowers for her work which were grown on her farm near the Devon Dorset border..

Reading a list of Flora’s clients is like reading the Vogue index. She’s worked with Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Dior, Cartier, Louis Vutton, and many more. In fact, Vogue magazine have previously said:

“Flora works with flowers as a renaissance painter would work with oils.” Vogue.

www.florastarkey.com

  • Tayshen
  • tayshen garden

Tayshan Hayden-Smith

Tayshan is the Founder of Grow2Know CIC, a not-for-profit founded following the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower.  Its aim continues to be centered around bringing positivity to the local area and creating green spaces which showcase tranquillity.

Tayshan, who is also a full-time footballer, created the ‘Grenfell Garden of Peace’ among several other green spaces.  Aged just 23, Tayshan commits to empowering young people and using the emotional healing powers that nature can bring. At Grow2Know, he works with renowned gardener and TV presenter Danny Clarke, also known as ‘The Black Gardener’, and Ali Yellop, who is heavily influenced by her British and Jamaican heritage.

“Grow2Know empowers young people through horticulture while also creating a more inclusive environment”.

www.grow2know.org.uk

  • alexander hoyle
  • alexander hoyle

Alexander Hoyle

London-based plantsman and garden designer Alexander developed his love for plants by growing up in the largest area of outstanding natural beauty in England, the Cotswolds. His botanical training at Kew has developed the romantic essence, which forms the foundations of all his work. His style is self-confessed ‘modern English country garden’, combining wild with flair to create the ultimate green spaces.

As he’s based in the city, one of his projects is My London Garden, using innovative steps and planting schemes to create small, but beautiful outdoor spaces in balcony gardens.

www.alexanderhoyle.co.uk

  • jack wallington
  • jack wallington

Jack Wallington

Landscape designer Jack is based in London but works all around the world, creating and delivering his incredible outdoor designs. His aim is to use high quality materials to create structural spaces for his clients that offer year-round interest and create happy memories!

Jack trained as an RHS qualified garden and landscape designer at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, and is particularly committed to protecting the planet. Jack considers the environmental impact of each of his designs and sources plants and materials from local suppliers. He’s written two books so far, The Gardener’s Book of Patterns and Wild about Weeds.

www.jackwallington.com

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