Reckless Gardener - Online Gardening Magazine, including online gardening shop!

Phone - +44 (0)1438 82 10 05
Email - info@lisagriffiths.co.uk
Web Site -
http://www.lisagriffiths.co.uk/

Design - Traditional and formal to the contemporary and informal.

Background – Creating and designing gardens in the south east of England for several years.

Qualifications - Professional accreditation in Amenity Horticulture and Garden Design with credit at Capel Manor School of Horticulture.

Most exciting garden designed? - The most exciting garden was The Metropolitan Police Garden that I designed for Chelsea Flower Show this year (May 2004) to celebrate 175 years of the Met Police. (Pictured left) The garden won a silver medal and received lots of publicity when Sir John Stevens, the police commissioner launched a new Rose that had been specially bred for the show.

What inspires you about each garden that you design? - I draw my inspiration from many sources, from constantly visiting gardens and shows like Chelsea, to reading and researching. Sometimes clients have very fixed ideas about what they want, but mainly they have called me in because they don't know what they want at all. I see each new project as a new and individual space to be designed and try and create a unique design to suit both the client and the surrounding landscape.

Is there a plant that seems to be consistently used in your designs? I try to use plants that will grow and thrive where they have been planted; to work with nature and never against it. I love native plants and trees, and could never envisage even the smallest plot without at least one tree, to bring in a diverse range of beneficial insects and wildlife into the garden.

How do your clients cope with looking after their garden once you have left? Once I have left a site, the client usually has been inspired to keep the garden looking as good as possible. I leave seasonal instructions if needed, and follow up each project after 6 months or so to see how things are going. Occasionally a client will need help with maintenance, but I often find a newly designed and planted garden gives people the bug that I was bitten by!

What is the average time scale for a typical garden? The time scale varies enormously from job to job, depending on the size and complexity of the plot. I usually need 4-6 weeks to complete a design from the first consultation with a client, and from then on the build can take anything from 2 weeks for a smallish garden to 2 months for something on a larger scale.

Advice to would be designers - Advice to would be designers? Always keep in touch with what's going on, attend as many shows as possible and visit lots of gardens. Look out for new designers that you can use in your own designs, (water feature etc), be prepared for lots of hard work, get as many contacts as you can and enjoy!