My Top 5 Favourites: Garden Designers

As a Garden designer I find inspiration everywhere - nature, other peoples gardens, fashion, travel, colours, books, paintings and textures in many things. Like people who have favourite shops, brands etc.. that they return to time and time again, so is it with me and certain Garden designers. When I need help to stretch my mind, or perhaps just dream and escape (see number 5) I turn to these 5 . These are my top 5 today...…..but who knows, in 12months, check back, it might have changed! (and no, they are not in order of preference).

This Tom Stuart Smith 2010 Chelsea Garden really did for me. I'd just recently moved in to a new home and was developing the garden. It was this garden that made me realise that I needed to explore gardening and design more. It quickly became my sanity check in life.

Thanks Tom.

Luciano Giubbilei Chelsea 2009. Still possibly my favourite floral border combination ever...the colours! Lets be frank, this is a show garden, your garden can't look like this every year - all these plants are not supposed to flower at the same time. Look closer though - the hard structural lines of the stone and hedging, softened with different textural grasses -you can do that - and then just add successional colour coming through from May to October. It won't be the same as this, but it will look great and be your creation - that's what show gardens do for us - inspire.

Acres Wild. I really struggled to pick a picture to represent this design duo, based in West Sussex, as I love just about everything they do. They are masters in emphasising views, but also creating family friendly cosy spaces that you can really see as easy to live in and with. Planting excellence as well with their use of texture, colour and grasses that look contemporary and effortless.

This one is all about the plants and colour. In my previous life, I studied textile design and worked in fashion. Colour and pattern are important to me, and as I lost my love for it in fashion, plants replaced them and helped me fill a large creative hole. This is the master, Piet Oudolf, and his wonderful garden at Scampston Hall in North Yorkshire. The picture says it all. Stunning beyond words.

In another life, I live in desert somewhere in the USA, and have a garden designed by Steve Martino. He calls his style, weeds and walls. I think Steve may be the master of understatement. I would write novels (possibly very bad, but mega sellers), drink too much tequila and swim in the pool in my magnificent space.