My love of garden design was probably forged in the royal households but I’ve been a gardener since before i can remember.
I was probably more of hinderance than a help when I first started but as soon as I could wield a trowel and watering can my Grandad had me helping him in his garden on a daily basis. This continued through to university where I worked part time for a small gardening company however, it wasn’t until after university that gardening went from being a passion to a career.
After receiving a BA Honours in graphic design I moved to London and once again started working for a gardening company, this one called Gavin Jones ltd. This was meant to be a temporary job however whilst there I was lucky enough to work in some of London’s most prestigious gardens including Buckingham and Kensington palace, Marlborough House, Piet Oudolf’s Pottersfield Park and finally I was made head gardener at Neo Bankside just behind the Tate Modern. Needless to say my love for gardens increased exponentially and it was then that I realised I wanted to be creating these spaces as well as managing them. So I decided to attend the Inchbald School of Design to get a diploma in garden design.
Armed with my diploma I went on to win a competition held at Inchbald by, London Based sculptor, Tanya Russell. The prize for which was designing her trade stand at the 2015 RHS Chelsea flower show. By then I had the garden design bug and I somehow managed to enter a back to back garden at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park. To this day I still have no idea how I managed to finish this garden on such a shoe string budget but at least Monty seemed to like it.
I’ve been designing gardens ever since, (apart from a two week stint in 2016 when I was commissioned to design a beach at Kings College, Guy’s Campus) working for four years as the lead designer for a landscape design and build company managing my own build team. In doing so I expanded on the crucial construction knowledge needed to create a properly informed and considered design. Its one thing to create an aesthetically pleasing master plan but its the attention to detail that truly makes a design great. One has to know how every single line in that drawing will become a reality.
Ben Edward Garden Design is the product of my considerable experience in design, horticulture and landscape construction. We constantly strive for new and innovative ways a garden can be realised and we approach every design without any preconceptions. The aim is to guide the client through every step of the process from start to finish resulting in a garden that is as individual as they are.