Jo Thompson

Listed by House & Garden, Country & Town House and Country Life magazines as one of the country’s top ten garden designers and plantswomen, Jo has won multiple awards, including four Gold medals for RHS Chelsea Flower Show gardens. She sits on several RHS advisory committees, is an RHS judge, lectures in the UK and internationally and is a visiting tutor at the London College of Garden Design. Jo's approach to garden design is one of creating harmony within the landscape; colour, architecture and the surrounding landscape all working together. She is committed to working sustainably, favouring local, natural materials, and through her use of plants, she aims to improve and enhance the biodiversity of each project, and believes passionately in everyone’s right to the access to green space. She has written two books including The Gardener’s Palette, which celebrates her love of colour. Her third book, publishing in 2025, will look at the allure of romantic gardens. Her weekly Substack newsletter The Gardening Mind shares her insights about designing for all kinds of gardens.

Jo Thompson

A warming winter pot for wildlife using Cornus alba and cotoneaster

Discover how to make this beautiful autumnal pot design idea with tones and textures using Heucherella from expert Jo Thompson

Pastels in the shade: a late summer pot with a soft colour combination through autumn

A meadow-inspired pot display from Jo Thompson for late-summer into autumn

Designers' favourite dahlias

An old steel bathtub planter sets out a pretty woodland display using Hydrangea paniculata 'Phantom'

A graceful planter of purple hues using rosemary, lavender and lemon verbena

A summer pot with bold orange and pinks using hemerocallis from Jo Thompson

A pot planting design to try using edibles in a rustic tin bath for colour from now through the summer

When to plant summer bulbs and the best to choose for a gloriously colourful garden

A junk-shop container lifts this elegant pot planting display with fritillaries and viola for early spring

Spring beauty in a pot: a stunning plant pot design you can plant up at home from designer Jo Thompson

An enchanting early spring planting combination for pots by designer Jo Thompson, for even the smallest garden