Garden Designer Charlotte Newitt

Design: I like to do as many different types of design as possible, the point of being a designer is to be creative and have ago at whatever is thrown at you, otherwise the job wouldn’t be as fun! Although, my favourite garden design would be cottage garden/traditional.

Qualifications: GNVQ1 in Horticulture, BTEC National Diploma in Horticulture, NVQ2 in Floristry and currently studying a HND in Horticulture- all specialising in Garden Design.

Awards: RHS Bronze Medal, Gardener’s World Live 2007, NEC

Area based : The Midlands

Most exciting garden designed : Gardener’s World Live 2007 at the NEC. It really helped me get my point across that gardening can be for young people as well as older! My garden had a traditional cottage garden planting but was broken up with stainless steel water features and elements to make the garden more modern and ‘young person’ friendly. The garden was called ‘Steeling Time in the Garden’. It was a brilliant experience to have, and not only did I get to take part and show of my garden to the public, I won a RHS Bronze Medal too!

What inspires you about each garden that you design?They are all different. No garden or design is ever the same, it really brings out the creative aspect of design which is what my job is all about.

Is there a plant that seems to be consistently used in your designs? At the moment it’s Phormium’s, mostly the deeper black/purple variety! They are gorgeous, also Delphiniums are another favourite plant of mine.

How do your clients cope with looking after their garden once you and your team have left ? Fine, I will either supply them with some notes and a maintenance plan to help guide them to look after the garden properly. Or I will go back every 6 months to help do the big maintenance jobs in the garden. All my clients have loved the work I’ve done in their gardens, so find it very easy to look after their garden so it won’t die on them!

What is the average time scale for a typical garden? Designing can be between 1-2 weeks (unless it’s the size of a football pitch!) and building-this all depends on the job and my contractor at the time.

My design practice and consultancy offers flexibility of services, this can range from 'Individual Consultation', 'Specific Design Elements', to 'Complete Design and Project management'.

Advice to would be designers: Try and get as many varied jobs as you can, really push the boundaries of your creativity. Also if just starting out as a designer, do some voluntary work first, such as gardens for schools or churches etc. so the public can see your work easily in action!