We pride ourselves at Gardens Illustrated on having our fingers on the pulse and our eyes on the future, especially when it comes to exciting and interesting people in the industry. From up-and-comers starting out with a splash to veterans of horticulture doing something new, this is our list of people to pay attention to in 2025.
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Of course, this is just a snapshot of the hundreds of people doing amazing things in the gardening sphere; it's our chance to name a few who are doing great work, pursuing new opportunities and inspiring us to spend as much time as possible in our gardens.
Gardeners, designers and plants people to follow in 2025
Harry Hoblyn
Harry Hoblyn is Nursery Manager and one of four directors at Rymer Trees & Hedging in Suffolk. As a teenager, Harry worked as a landscaper and went on to study horticulture at Writtle. This early interest in the field might seem surprising until you learn that his dad is lauded designer Tom Hoblyn. Harry has also worked stints at the National Trust and Barcham Trees. When the opportunity arose to set up his own tree nursery, he decided to focus on peat-free, cell-grown stock to extend the tree planting season. To start with, he continued a gardening role at Thurlow Estate but since 2023 he has worked at his own nursery full time and it has gone from strength to strength. Next year, the team are looking to increase production on the site before expanding further, and Harry hopes to set up a direct-to-customer e-commerce system.
Instagram @he_hoblyn
rymertrees.co.uk
Chris Reynolds
Chris is the Director and Principal Designer at garden design studio Bridgeman Kent. In 2024, he became the inaugural winner of the RHS Career Changer category at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park. The Safe Space Garden was Chris' first ever show garden and aimed to highlight the work of charity Victim Support. He won not only a gold medal, but also the People's Choice Award. Chris previously worked in public service, supporting victims of crime and domestic abuse, and also served as a front-line police officer. In 2022, he graduated from the London College of Garden Design and now works on a diverse range of projects through his studio. He has a number of exciting projects lined up for 2025, including designing an eight-acre equestrian estate in West Sussex and the reimagining of a townhouse garden in Wimbledon. Chris is passionate about creating purposeful, practical spaces that are environmentally friendly.
Instagram @bridgeman_kent
bridgemankent.com
Maggie Tran
Maggie is the Head of Gardens and Growing for a large restoration and regeneration project in the Summer Isles in the far North West of Scotland; a role which she took up this year. Having started out in community gardens in Brighton, followed by working and training at some of the most distinguished ornamental gardens in the country, she finds herself arriving full circle back to a more community-orientated role in a wild landscape she feels strongly connected to. Maggie trained at places such as Great Dixter and RHS Garden Wisley and was a RHS/GCA Interchange Fellow at Longwood Gardens in the USA. Prior to this role, she was the head gardener of Bramdean House, a private garden in Hampshire, for five years. Maggie takes inspiration from great projects like Birch Farm and the Knepp Estate, and is working out how to adapt some of their methods and approaches to the unique project and setting of the Highlands. She is excited about the challenge of what it is to grow in this often harsh environment and to finally have her own garden with trees - a rarity on the far north west coast - where she intends to develop her own forest garden.
Instagram @hortiventure
Jenny Huddart
Jenny worked in TV media research before transitioning into gardening. Since then she has built an impressive CV, having spent time at Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, The Small Holding and Sarah Raven's Perch Hill. In 2024, she was appointed Head Gardener at Water Lane, a Victorian walled garden in Kent. The two-acre site is a long-term restoration project, led by custodians Ian James and Nick Selby, who are slowly bringing back the garden to its original purpose of growing fruit and vegetables. In 2025, Water Lane plans to increase the number of gardening courses it offers as well as developing the cut flower area and expanding plant sales. It is an exciting time for the historic garden with Jenny at the helm.
Instagram @gardener_jen
waterlane.net
Henrietta Huntley
Previously a propagation assistant at Beth Chatto Plants & Gardens, this year Henrietta set up her own mail-order nursery Freckles and Flora in North Yorkshire. Selling unusual herbaceous perennials and annuals online and at plant fairs, Henrietta grows everything herself from seed, cuttings and divisions in stock beds on site or in peat-free compost. Accompanied by her dog Pringle, Henrietta works single-handedly to produce a wide-range of plants and will expand her range next year to include bare-root options as well as teaching some propagation courses.
Instagram @freckles_and_flora
frecklesandflora.co.uk
Jack Aldridge
Jack is a horticulturist, plantsman and writer. At RHS Garden Wisley, he can be found gardening the woodland area known as Oakwood, but takes a broad interest in the garden’s wider woody plant collection. While being excited by plants of all kinds, trees and shrubs remain his specialist area, as recognised by his appointment to the RHS Woody Plant Committee in 2024. He contributes regularly to various publications including The Garden and The Plant Review and is also an author for IDS Trees & Shrubs Online, currently working on revision of Cornus. He is also a trustee for White House Farm Arboretum in Kent, created by Maurice Foster VMH, and visits often helping to document and share the incredible plant collection there.
Instagram @jackjaldridge
rhs.org.uk
Becky Crowley
Over the past three years, Becky has been self-employed, designing gardens, offering garden coaching, and running a small business selling prints of her botanical photography through her website. Starting early in the new year, she will begin a new role as assistant head gardener at Raby Castle in Co. Durham. This opportunity follows her collaboration with Luciano Giubbilei on the design of a new cut flower garden, which is part of a significant renovation project at the castle. Becky will be responsible for caring for the five-acre Georgian walled garden, re-designed by Luciano. Previously, Becky spent five years as the cut flower grower at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, followed by two years in Washington State at the famous Floret Flower Farm, where she designed and implemented a series of new gardens and farm areas.
Instagram @beckycrowley_
beckycrowley.com
Ed Boers & Laura Whiley
Ed and Laura took over the running of the much-loved nursery Fibrex in 2023 and have since worked hard to grow the business. Ed is a fourth-generation grower who has spent a lifetime immersed in the world of horticulture, developing a deep understanding of sustainable growing practices and the needs of the horticulture industry. Driven by a passion for pelargoniums, Ed is dedicated to showcasing the beauty and versatility of these beloved plants at Fibrex Nurseries. Laura is a seasoned professional with a strong background in business transformation, now channelling that expertise into running a thriving nursery. Passionate about sustainable growth, Laura is committed to cultivating a business that relies entirely on self-propagation - cutting all plants from mother plants rather than purchasing stock. Next year, the nursery plans to introduce a broader range of pelargoniums, with a particular focus on scented varieties. Ed and Laura are also eager to partner with other like-minded horticulture businesses, exploring new projects, joint ventures, and knowledge-sharing opportunities.
Instagram @fibrex_nurseries
fibrex.co.uk
Chatu Madhvani
In 2020, Chatu decided to replace some of her office work as an accountant with structured time in horticulture through voluntary roles at Woodcroft Wildspace, public Quaker gardens and Daisy Roots nursery. In 2024, she discovered the courtyard garden at Holtwhites Bakery. The opportunity was a perfect fit and Chatu now takes pride in creating a community-shared garden with owners who support her slower, sustainable approach to developing a low-resource space that improves over time rather than opting for an instant garden with less longevity. She now works with other private gardens that share the same ethos. Alongside this, she creates sculptures from garden waste and in 2024 exhibited her work at the Strawberry Hill Flower Festival. Next year, Chatu and the owners will open Holtwhites Bakery for the NGS and she'll continue her work to transform an overgrown private garden.
Instagram @chatu_madhvani
Matt Evans
Matt Evans is a chartered landscape architect, garden designer and passionate plantsman based in Bath. He recently founded his own garden design practice which focuses on creating landscapes and gardens with unique atmospheres, incorporating rare, historically significant plants. With extensive experience in complex urban, rural, and public realm projects, Matt has worked alongside renowned designer Arne Maynard and led projects across the UK, Europe and the Americas. Matt believes in working closely with his clients to create gardens which are personal to them and uses his connections with specialist nurseries, craftspeople and suppliers to ensure the garden is finished to the highest quality. In 2024, his own garden was featured in Gardens Illustrated.
Instagram @marvsw0rld
mattevanslandscapes.com
Ashleigh Aylett
Ashleigh is a garden and landscape designer. After graduating with a first-class degree in Interior Design from De Montfort University and winning the New Designer of the Year award, she spent five years in commercial interior design before transitioning to landscape design. Combining an interior designer’s perspective with horticulture, Ashleigh earned her RHS Level 2 qualifications while freelancing. In 2022, she joined the collaborative studio of Emily Erlam and John Davies, gaining hands-on experience in design and planting. In 2024, Ashleigh designed her first RHS show garden with the Woodland Trust at RHS Tatton Park, winning RHS Young Designer of the Year and a Gold Medal. She is now preparing to design her first ever garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show for 2025 and launch her own design studio focused on storytelling-driven residential gardens.
Instagram @ashleighaylett
George Game
George is currently the Christopher Lloyd Scholar at Great Dixter. Previously, he studied philosophy and French at the University of Southampton, spending a year abroad at the University of Caen Normandie. He trained in horticulture in Scotland at Douneside House, owned and run by the MacRobert Trust, where he completed his RHS Level 2 qualifications. His experience includes a junior position at Lake House in Wiltshire, time at the renowned Wildside garden, and work placements at Logan Botanic Garden and Tresco Abbey Garden. Next year, George is focused on developing the skills necessary to garden in the way that he aspires to. Working as part of the team at Great Dixter, he is gaining invaluable experience in its distinctive approach to layered planting and the ecological and cultural uniqueness of the garden.
Instagram @georgefgame
greatdixter.co.uk
Stephanie Li
After a career-change from photography and graphic design into horticulture, Stephanie began her studies at RBG Kew in 2021, and is now working as a botanical horticulturist in the Agius Evolution Garden and Grass Garden. She is particularly interested in stories about plants and the communities of life they support, both human and non-human. In noticing and learning, Stephanie has recognised metaphors that have deepened her connection with nature and herself as a second-generation immigrant in Britain. She has been a committee member of the London Gardens Network since 2022, and spoke, as part of a panel, on this subject at the Beth Chatto Symposium in 2024. Stephanie aspires to share her knowledge with communities who have limited access to green space. In 2025 she will continue this work through events with grassroots organisation Roots of Belonging, speaking at KMIS about her travel scholarship to Scotland’s temperate rainforests, and tending to the Peony and Agius Evolution Garden at Kew.
Instagram @stephanie.tree
kew.org
Hannah Fox
After spending 10 years at the now-closed Marchants Hardy Plants, Hannah is now establishing Bright Green Fox Nursery, a micro-nursery based in her garden near Lewes, East Sussex. She plans to hold open weekends, participate in plant fairs and grow plants to order for designers and rewilding projects. Initially keeping the nursery small, Hannah is dedicating 2025 as her "Year of Gardening Dangerously", a year of exploration and inspiration before committing to the full-time demands of running a nursery. Her plans include visiting innovative gardens, nurseries and horticulturists across the UK and abroad. She is set to spend regular time at Great Dixter, Knepp and Highlands, with additional collaborations underway with John Little. Hannah will travel extensively, with trips to Germany, Ireland, Scotland and the US, while teaching at West Dean, working in nurseries, botanising around England and presenting a film on propagation with Garden Masterclass. She is exploring ways to document this ambitious journey and is determined to make the most of this exciting, adventurous chapter.
Instagram @brightgreenfox
Russell Rigler
Russell is head ornamental gardener at 42 Acres, a regenerative estate, nature reserve and wellbeing retreat centre in Somerset. Russell began his gardening journey at the Victorian walled kitchen garden at Audley End House. His career developed through placements at The Savill and Valley Gardens in Windsor, RHS Garden Hyde Hall and a full-time role at RHS Garden Wisley, where he honed his expertise in ornamental gardening and propagation. He later joined The Newt in Somerset, where he explored planting design, creating vibrant schemes for the Colour Gardens, Cascade, Grass Beds and Medieval Herb Garden. At 42 Acres, he has reimagined the gardens under the mentorship of landscape architect Dominic Cole, integrating food production, biodiversity and wellbeing with the estate’s agri-wilding initiatives. In 2025, the ornamental gardens at 42 Acres will focus on expanding their collection of edible and perennial plants. The team will also experiment with unfamiliar edibles, research their nutritional benefits and deepen connections between the gardens and wellbeing practices.
Instagram @riglerrussell
42acres.com
Bob Burstow
Bob joined Sculpture by the Lakes in Dorset as a senior horticulturist in spring 2024. He trained at the Professional Gardeners’ Guild and has experience at prominent gardens such as the Eden Project and the National Botanic Garden of Wales. In 2025, Bob is leading several projects, including a major tree-planting initiative to diversify the estate's arboreal collection, and the creation of a winter garden designed to attract visitors year-round despite challenging site conditions. Collaborating with Dorset Wildlife Trust, he is also part of a team developing a wildlife management plan to preserve and enhance biodiversity within the park. Additionally, Bob is spearheading an effort to cultivate a collection of the critically endangered Chinese Swamp Cypress, leveraging the site’s wet and boggy environment.
Instagram @sculpturebythelakes
sculpturebythelakes.co.uk
Dr Chloe Sutcliffe
Chloe, RHS Sustainability Fellow, works at RHS Garden Wisley. Following studies in anthropology and ecology, Chloe trained in horticulture with Garden Organic and RBG Kew, before gaining her PhD in environmental social science. She now works as a research fellow in the Environmental Horticulture team at the RHS, with a focus on measuring domestic horticultural practices and building understanding of the drivers that influence people to garden more sustainably. She loves that her role combines her social science expertise with her passion for plants, gardening and nature, and is especially interested in understanding the connections between mindfulness, wellbeing and sustainable horticultural practices. In 2025 she will be collaborating on the delivery of a new garden at RHS Garden Wisley and developing a calculator tool for amateur gardeners, both of which aim to communicate new insights about the environmental impacts of gardening, with a focus on how gardeners can maximise their positive influences on people and planet.
Bluesky @gardens4good.bsky.social
rhs.org.uk
Istvan Dudas
Istvan is head gardener at Stockcross House and another private garden in Oxfordshire. Hailing from Transylvania, his passion for gardening began during childhood summers spent on his grandparents' self-sufficient farm, where he discovered the joy of working with soil, plants and vegetables. After moving to the UK in 2009, following a career as a textile engineer and soldier, Istvan embraced gardening professionally. He has a traditional yet creative approach and creates complex mixed borders inspired by Great Dixter's succession planting, propagating nearly all plants on-site to achieve a naturalistic style. To further hone his craft, Istvan is currently pursuing an RHS Level 2 Horticulture course. Stockcross House will be open for the NGS in 2025, on 18 May and 17 August.
Instagram @istvan_dudas_
Aimee Spanswick
Aimee is an ecologically focused gardener who stepped into horticulture in 2019 with an apprenticeship at Regent's Park. She graduated with distinction and was awarded the prestigious George Cooke Award from the Worshipful Company of Gardeners. By 2022, she had earned a Permaculture Design Certificate and completed a Community Gardener Traineeship. In 2023, she brought her expertise to Ladbroke Grove as a community gardener before joining Kew Gardens in 2024. She has maintained her core ethos and continues to weave permaculture principles into her everyday work. Next year, Aimee will be creating a native and non-native planting plan for an area she looks after at Kew and will also be collaborating with fellow gardeners in a working group, exploring the vital and valuable role of gardeners within the public and charity sectors and the better pay that they deserve.
Instagram @aimeeswildserenity
kew.org
Toby Shuall
Toby is a self-taught horticulturist who left London over four years ago to establish a nursery and garden, driven by a deep passion for plants. He grew up skateboarding in London and had just turned pro when he was forced to quit because of an injury. Being a creative person, he later set up a clothing brand and then became a carpenter too while continuing to make art. Having always loved being outdoors and escaping town, he fell in love with plants in his late twenties and moved to East Sussex in 2020. After recently moving to a new house, he's started to build up a new garden and nursery from scratch. Inspired by public plantings and committed to low-maintenance, environmentally conscious practices, Toby focuses on experimenting with adaptable species suited to a changing climate. On his small farm, where he lives with his family, Toby is completing his nursery, Zophian Plants, for a summer opening while creating experimental plantings, stock areas and a garden. He is trialling innovative sand stock beds to explore sustainable growing methods, with plans to offer bare-root stock in the future. Toby also continues to expand his collection of perennials, sub-shrubs and Phlomis.
Instagram @zophianplants
Charles Shi
Charles is a botanical horticulturist in Kew’s Arboretum Temperate Collection and a graduate of the Kew Diploma. He has previously worked as an apprentice and intern at Waterperry Gardens and Oxford Botanic Garden as well as Singapore Botanic Garden and Gardens by the Bay. Awarded Young Horticulturist of the Year in 2022, Charles has played a key role in managing and renovating Kew’s Rhododendron Dell, leading to a collaborative research trip to Vietnam to collect critically endangered species for ex-situ conservation. In 2024, Charles contributed to the creation of Kew’s Wild Rose Garden, showcasing species roses and conducting scientific research into their traits. As part of his work with wild roses, Charles is working closely with Kew scientists to collect data that will form the basis of new scientific papers. Some of the methods include ‘capturing scent’ in bags, describing their colours and smells, looking at how much they reflect UV for pollinator analysis, examining the differences in their genetic material and taking herbarium specimens.
Laura Naylor
Laura's career began at 16, planting seedlings for a national wildflower charity in Liverpool. Laura managed the development of a park for a children’s hospital to integrate nature into healthcare and set up a forest school in partnership with Lancashire Wildlife Trust, later used for children’s mental health services. She has also contributed to a Chelsea Flower Show garden focused on foraging, which won a Silver-Gilt medal in 2022 and was later installed at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Following a period of illness, Laura formalised her horticultural training by obtaining RHS Level 2 qualifications and further certificates in garden design, orchard management and forest gardening. Currently on a placement at John Massey’s garden at Ashwood Nurseries, she will continue her development with a six-month placement at Great Dixter, supported by the Adam Greathead Award. Passionate about inclusivity and accessibility in horticulture, Laura hopes to see the industry better integrated into education and healthcare, while valuing the vital skills of horticulturalists. Looking ahead, she is eager to immerse herself in plants, propagation and meaningful conversations.
Instagram @lauranayl
ashwoodnurseries.com
Mattie O'Callaghan
Mattie is an ecological designer, curator and gardener, currently the Horticultural Trainee at the Garden Museum and working as a freelance landscape architect. Their work centres around bringing together community, arts, and ecology to design meaningful and beautiful public spaces. They began with studying Geography at Cambridge and have a Distinction from the Royal College of Art in MA Curating where they have since curated exhibitions and ran community projects connecting art and ecology, including receiving the Kew Youth Environmental Leader Award. They have recently received a Distinction in MLA Landscape Architecture from the University of Greenwich and have been writing about how we can queer planting design and practices. Next year they have a residency at Derek Jarman's Prospect Cottage, gaining experience in a variety of gardens as part of their traineeship, including Great Dixter, Tresco Abbey Gardens, and Sissinghurst Castle Garden and working to develop sustainable landscape architectural strategies and garden designs for practices such as Oval Partnership.
Instagram @mattie.ocallaghan
gardenmuseum.org.uk
Jonathan Zerr
Jonathan started his career with an apprenticeship at the Botanical Garden in Hamburg and a placement at Kew. Despite delays caused by the Covid-19 lockdown, he gained valuable experience leading landscaping teams in Hamburg before relocating to Suffolk. There, he worked on private estates and volunteered at Helmingham Hall. Jonathan later joined the RHS Diploma course at Wisley, where a passion for curating and maintaining rare plant collections grew. Inspired by Cedric Morris’s garden at Benton End, he focused his final dissertation on the emotional connections that shape a garden’s “spirit of place.” After graduating, he joined Benton End as a WRAGS trainee, combining garden conservation research with practical application, while also working in the historic walled garden at Helmingham Hall. Johnathan is currently part of the team at Benton End, where he is helping to revive the historic garden of artist plantsman Cedric Morris under the guidance of head gardener James Horner and the Garden Museum. In addition, Jonathan leads the development of the garden at Bottengoms Farm for the Essex Wildlife Trust, the former garden of the late writer Ronald Blythe, which was inherited from the artist John Nash and his wife Christine. Alongside these roles, he also works freelance, maintaining and enhancing local gardens in the Suffolk countryside.
Instagram @jon_z_gardener
bentonend.co.uk
