The UK has a wealth of women garden designers at the top of their game, so to mark International Women's Day, we've chosen to highlight some of the key women garden designers who are currently working in the industry.
Key women garden designers working in Britain today
Marie-Louise Agius
The designer, who is a senior director at landscape practice Balston Agius, began her career at Clifton Nurseries in London and has since worked on projects including the Maggie's Centre in Leeds, an urban planning project in Northamptonshire and a large private estate in Yorkshire. In 2013 she won a Gold Medal for the East Village Show Garden at the centenary of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and led the team that created the RHS COP26 Garden at the 2021 show. Her great-grandfather created the gardens at Exbury, of which she is now a trustee.
balston-agius.co.uk
Rosemary Alexander
Mother of four, Rosemary Alexander was given six months to prove herself when she began work in the 1970s as the only female trainee in a London firm of landscape architects. But she confounded expectations by lasting the course, and went on to rise to prominence as a teacher, writer and designer. In 1983, she set up the English Gardening School. For 11 years she was tenant of the National Trust’s Stoneacre in Kent, where she transformed the gardens.
Arit Anderson
Garden designer and BBC TV presenter Arit Anderson started out in the world of fashion, but her career in garden design was kickstarted after she won the RHS Chelsea Fresh Talent Award in 2013. She studied at Capel Manor and set up Diamond Hill garden design, which focuses on London and the surrounding counties. She has designed several show gardens including two feature gardens for The BBC One Show and RHS Garden of Hope at Chelsea and a peat-free garden for Hampton Court Palace Festival in 2024.
Isabel Bannerman
Along with her husband Julian, Isabel Bannerman has been designing gardens and gardens for more than 30 years. Together they've won Gold at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and their book Landscape of Dreams documents the projects they have taken on - from unloved, unknown gardens to projects for HM The King at Highgrove, Paul Getty, Arundel and Waddesdon Manor. Listen to her describe her dream garden on our Talking Gardens podcast with Isabel Bannerman.
Jinny Blom
Following a first career as a psychotherapist, and a stint with Dan Pearson, self-taught Jinny Blom set up as a garden designer in 2000 and is today one of Britain's most respected designers, with gardens designed in London, Scotland, France, Italy, the USA and Kenya. Her best advice to women starting out? “Running a small business is hard work. Your family and friendships will suffer, your free time will evaporate and you will be, largely speaking, overstretched and underappreciated. But if you feel that’s the life for you, then go ahead.”
Marian Boswall
Leading landscape designer, writer and speaker Marian Boswall is known for beautiful regenerative landscapes that invest in the land for the long term, including the Tillingham Winery, a charming garden for a chapel in the Cotswolds and Charleston. Kindness is deeply embedded in the ethos of her practice; her latest book, The Kindest Garden, is about regenerative gardening - a step on from sustainable gardening.
marianboswall.com
Jane Brockbank
With a fine art background, Jane combines a painterly use of colour and texture with a contemporary approach to structure and form. She has worked on a wide range of private and commercial projects from pocket-sized city gardens through to large country estates and has exhibited twice at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Discover a city gravel garden designed by Jane.
janebrockbank.com
Kristina Clode
An award-winning designer based in Rye, Kristina takes on projects in the south east and around the country. She has worked on everything from city courtyards to large family gardens and two sensory gardens for schools. She is redesigning the historic Iris garden at Nunnington Hall, due to be completed in early summer 2025.
kristinaclodegardendesign.co.uk
Tania Compton
Tania first developed a passion for plants in Ibiza more than 30 years ago. Formerly gardens editor of House & Garden magazine, she is now a garden designer and botanical artist known for her work in the UK (including her own garden in Wiltshire, Spilsbury Farm) and gardens in places further afield, such as Greece.
Discover this romantic Greek garden by Tania
Sarah Eberle
A trailblazer for women starting out on their careers, Sarah Eberle is one of this country's most important garden designers and the most decorated designer at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. She looks to landscapes and architecture, rather than gardens, for ideas and often finds herself visiting scrap yards and quarries because both hold so much potential for creating something new. “I love brutal landscapes, such as deserts and volcanic areas, where nature shows such strength and personality.”
Helen Elks-Smith
Trained in garden design at Writtle College, Helen set up her design studio in 2005. She is known for her subtle, textural planting and beautiful yet practical gardens. In 2019 Helen was made a Fellow of the Society of Garden Designers for her outstanding contribution to the industry. Helen lives in the New Forest, Hampshire and works across the UK.
Discover a garden in the New Forest designed by Helen Elks-Smith.
Emily Erlam
Having previously worked in television, Emily has been a landscape designer since 2008. She specialises in plant-led gardens and runs a small practice in Clerkenwell, London. "In each space I endeavour to create a unique sense of place," she says.
erlamstudio.com
Kate Gould
Kate Gould Gardens was founded over 20 years ago and has evolved from a one-woman design studio to a full-service design and build firm. Kate specialises in transforming unloved urban spaces into lush green gardens in a modern, yet sustainable style. She has designed many show gardens; her Sanctuary Garden ‘Out Of The Shadows’ won an unprecedented three medals – a gold medal, the coveted ‘Best In Category’ award as well as the ‘Best In Construction’ award in 2022.
kategouldgardens.com
Annie Guilfoyle
Something of a polymath, Annie designs gardens up and down the country. She worked as director of garden design at KLC School of Design for 18 years and, when she finally left, established Garden Masterclass with writer Noel Kingsbury. She teaches several prestigious garden design courses in this country, including at West Dean and Great Dixter, but also lectures as far afield as Pennsylvania and Poland. She often writes for Gardens Illustrated, too.
creative-landscapes.com
Bunny Guinness
Bunny has worked in landscape design for almost 50 years and has worked on private gardens of all sizes, reclamation sites, renovation of inner city housing estates, planning appeals, sheltered housing schemes, pedestrian precincts, golf courses, farm and estate planting and public roof gardens. She has been a panelist on BBC Radio 4 Gardeners’ Question Time since 1998.
bunnyguinness.com
Charlotte Harris
Charlotte Harris is co-founder of Harris Bugg Studio with designer Hugo Bugg, with whom she won Best in Show at Chelsea 2023 for Horatio’s Garden, a wheelchair accessible garden for patients recovering from spinal injury, which is being relocated to Northern General Hospital in Sheffield to benefit its patients and staff. Charlotte's other work over the years has included innovative gardens in the city and country, in the UK and abroad, including Clumber Park pleasure grounds. She is presently writing a series on Design Solutions in Gardens Illustrated. Watch our video on Charlotte Harris's 100 favourite plants and read her article: There are brilliant women in gardening – why don't we see more of them?
Humaira Ikram
Humaira Ikram specialises in client-focused landscapes, which are pollinator friendly and as sustainable as possible. She runs the Garden Design Diploma at the KLC School of Design and often collaborates on show gardens and other planting projects. She is currently a regular contributor on BBC Gardeners Question Time on Radio 4, has been a Guest Judge on the Netflix Series The Big Flower Fight, is a Gardens Advisor to RHS Hyde Hall and is on various selection and advisory panels for the RHS.
Arabella Lennox-Boyd b. 1938
Born in Rome, Arabella Lennox-Boyd spent seven years studying landscape architecture in London. In an international career spanning four decades, she has won six Chelsea Golds and created over 450 gardens, from sleek city rooftops to landscape parks and Italian palace gardens. “I’m in love with plants,” she declares. “And because I’m Italian, I’m in love with design, so I can only feel comfortable if the space is right.”
Ula Maria
Since she won the RHS Young Designer of the year in 2017, designer Ula Maria has not looked back, and won Best in Show at Chelsea 2024 for her woodland garden designed for Muscular Dystrophy UK. Having grown up in rural Lithuania she has a particular connection with nature and emotive, sensory experiences in her gardens.
ulamaria.com
Mazzullo Russell
Between them, Emma Mazzullo and Libby Russell have over 50 years' experience in the industry working at the highest level (they previously worked for Arabella Lennox-Boyd). No job is to large or too small providing they think they can bring something ’special’ to the place; they have worked on everything from city gardens to large countryside estates.
mazzullorusselllandscapedesign.com
Ann-Marie Powell
Ann-Marie Powell's design practice offers a combination of impeccable hard landscaping and colourful and inventive planting. She has also designed a number of high-profile show gardens and has a shelf of medals to prove it. “I really believe, as the landscape architect Thomas Church said, that gardens are for people and as a designer I can open their eyes to a wonderful pleasure that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.”
Sarah Price
Sarah Price has established herself as one of the most prominent and sought-after garden designers in Britain. With a background in fine art and a life-long love of wild and natural environments, her gardens have an immersive quality and are often described as ‘painterly’.
Sarah's practice has designed a very wide range of gardens, including the 2012 Gardens at London’s Olympic Park and more recently the community garden at Erith's Exchange in south east London. She has won several gold medals at Chelsea, including her widely admired Nurture Landscapes garden in 2023. Sarah is a contributing editor for Gardens Illustrated. Listen to our podcast with Sarah.
sarahpricelandscapes.com
Debbie Roberts
Debbie Roberts established Acres Wild with partner Ian Smith in 1988. "An Acres Wild design consists of a bold underlying structure softened with full and naturalistic planting to reflect the tastes, requirements and aspirations of our clients, their homes, and the wider landscape setting," they say. Located in south-east England, they work anywhere from the heart of London to the coast, but also throughout the UK. Recent international projects include gardens in France, Spain and California.
acreswild.co.uk
Sara Jane Rothwell
With a background in film and theatre, Sara Jane set up London Garden Designer in 2003. She has become known for her work on urban and sloping gardens and roof terraces in awkward spots, primarily in London but also further afield.
londongardendesigner.com
Charlotte Rowe
Charlotte Rowe established her London studio in 2004 and is equally at home designing small gardens, terraces and landscapes in London, the UK and overseas. Charlotte won a Gold medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2014 for her show garden, ‘No Man’s Land’, and has won many industry awards.
Juliet Sargeant
An initial career in the medical profession meant that Juliet Sargeant learnt quickly how important the natural world can be for healing. Juliet won a Gold Medal and the People's Choice Prize for her 2016 Chelsea Flower Show garden, the Modern Slavery Garden, which was the show's first ever social campaign garden. She was made a Fellow of the Society of Garden and Landscape Designers in 2017 for her contribution to garden design & horticulture. Her new book, Start with Soil: Simple Steps for a Thriving Garden is out in May 2025.
Brita von Schoenaich
In 1994, German-born Brita von Schoenaich introduced Britain to German naturalistic planting at a symposium at Kew. Von Schoenaich focuses on details in her gardens and she worked on Marks Hall Aboretum, creating a three-acre lakeside garden to complement and contrast with the wider estate. She studied at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew before taking a postgraduate course in landscape design and now works alongside landscape designer Christopher Bradley-Hole.
Jo Thompson
Jo has won a loyal client base by creating romantic gardens shaped by gentle interventions. She certainly can produce a slick contemporary design when the setting or the client demands it, but the majority of her work has a relaxed feel. “You shouldn’t look at one of my gardens and immediately know that I made it. It doesn’t need to look like it has always been there, but it should look like it could be there forever," she says. Read our full profile of Jo Thompson.
jothompson-garden-design.co.uk
Lulu Urquhart
Lulu is half of landscape design duo Urquhart & Hunt, which she co-founded with Adam Hunt. Their practice specialises in contemporary restorations of older gardens and their wider landscapes, bringing nature into gardens as part of ecological restoration. As first-time exhibitors at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022, they won a gold medal and Best in Show for their ‘A Rewilding Britain Landscape’, which showcased a native landscape in the process of rewilding, flourishing bio-diversity and including a beaver’s dynamic habitat. They recently worked on La Pistola, a new and ambitious garden in southern Italy.
Butter Wakefield
American-born Butter worked as an interior design assistant at Colefax and Fowler before training at the English Gardening School and more recently, The London College of Garden Design. She runs a small design studio that creates romantic, timeless gardens and prides herself on her personal service, in London and beyond.
Ruth Willmott
Ruth is passionate how a connection with nature can enrich people's lives. Her practice has a reputation for creating aesthetically beautiful gardens that embrace and work with nature, especially within conservation neighbourhoods, areas of outstanding natural beauty and listed properties. It prioritises trees and planting over hard landscaping.
ruthwillmott.com
Pollyanna Wilkinson
Polly worked in marketing before realising that she craved a more creative path, going on to train at the English Gardening School and Merrist Wood. Her practice works on a broad range of projects, from courtyards and roof gardens to country estates and commercial projects; her designs balance practicality and elegance. She has won medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and Hampton Court Flower Shows. Her book, How to Design a Garden: Create and Maintain Your Dream Garden is out now.
studiopollyanna.co.uk