Garden Design School Student Case Studies

Our graduates come from many walks of life: some have worked in an allied field such as horticulture, architecture or graphical design: others are taking a completely new path far from their ‘first’ career: some are returning after a career break. One thing everyone shares is the same passion to work within the extraordinary and vibrant discipline of garden design.

Most of our graduates are working in the UK but featured here are three graduates who have taken their training and new career abroad to set up new lives for themselves and their families.

Be inspired by their journeys and vision for their futures.

Tamsin Varley

I studied at Garden Design School in 2007 just before relocating to Portugal. My first task there was to redesign my own garden, which was laid mainly to lawn and very boring and I have spent the last two and half years doing just that. Now all the major works are completed but I still have plans for some "wilder" areas away from the house, creating some more remote sitting areas and building a tree house! There is also a large area of land below the house I have planted some olive trees with wild flowers. My biggest challenge was learning the plants suitable for the climate and also working with a very limited choice of materials and styles.Challenging at times, but encourages me to think 'outside the box'

I love it that visitors gasp in amazement at our garden and we now have a reputation for having a superb garden - so much so, that we are beginning to get requests from people to come and visit and get ideas. As they say, imitation is the best form of flattery – thank you Moira! I also write articles for local newspapers and magazines on gardening, plants and a tour I did of some gardens around Lisbon in 2009. I am really enjoying the journalistic side of gardening as well as designing and getting my hands dirty!’ 

Bruce Dorey

DESIGNING GARDENS IN SPAIN

Having studied the at Garden Design School for the Diploma in 2004/2005,
I had to leave the course one week early to move to Southern Spain with my family and all our possessions, to a small mountain village about 45 minutes inland from Marbella and the Costa del Sol. With a dilapidated village house to refurbish and hardly being able to speak a word of Spanish I had I a lot to do! Especially as I also needed to earn money and as yet had not had my first garden design client.

Six years on and after much adventure, I have established my business there, and built up some really good contacts such as architects, project managers and estate agents. We have just returned to the UK for family reasons, but I continue to work in Spain, traveling back and forth every two or three weeks as I develop a new garden design business here in Devon for UK projects.

The challenges in Spain are very different with outdoor living being an integral part of the way of life, often involving the design of swimming pools and large architectural outdoor living spaces. The climate is harsh with scorching heat from May to October, baking the clay soils as hard as concrete, really limiting your plant selection. Finding good contractors, hard landscape materials and still working on the language have all added to the frustration at times but I very much enjoy all things Spanish and intend to continue working in both countries. It exposes me to a different climate and culture and the projects ensure that my portfolio remains fresh and exciting... 
 

 
 
www.brucedorey.com

Gillian Sandham

As a passionate gardener I had long intended to take a course in garden design - but for my own interest, not with intention of setting up my own business. My training with Moira and Robin at the Garden Design School changed all that, and, not knowing whether I was being completely foolhardy, in 2006 I gave up my teaching career and set myself up as a novice garden designer. My first commissions were from personal recommendations but within a year the majority of enquiries were coming from the website, and these days constitute about 80% of new enquiries. I work mainly in London and the South East., and in Northern France, so my work varies between town gardens and rural locations. Occasionally I work further afield, and little dreamed when I started out that I would be asked to help develop gardens in places like Toronto, New York and Sydney. I think I am living proof that taking a course at the Garden Design School can lead to all kinds of undreamt of opportunities – so take the plunge! 

www.gilliansandhamgardendesign.co.uk