At the forefront of modern garden design for more than 20 years, we undertake a wide range of projects in the UK and internationally, from urban gardens and rooftop terraces to sprawling rural estates.
We enjoy working closely with a client's architects from the outset of a project as we believe a coherent design and seamless relationship between house and garden is paramount to how successfully life is lived between them. Every garden site, its buildings and surrounding environment is individually appraised for existing and potential strengths in order to produce a garden of unique and meaningful character.
We seek to create gardens which look and function wonderfully throughout the year, requiring a minimum of intervention. Our encyclopaedic knowledge of plants and intuitive understanding of how they relate to their environment and natural growing conditions allows us to carefully select plants on a site-specific basis to thrive with little attention and yet remain consistently uplifting through the seasons.
We are fully aware of the threats to our global environment and are constantly seeking ways to evolve our sustainable design approach in the midst of these developing challenges.
Above all we encourage a healthy exchange of ideas and believe a successful garden is achieved through clear and constant communication with our clients, their architects, the landscapers, the artisans and everyone involved.
Developing a fascination for plants at an early age, his life has been inextricably linked with gardens and horticulture. This, combined with diverse passions for modern architecture, contemporary art, progressive design and music, forms the essential driving force behind his work.
James first mastered horticulture at Wye College, University of London, then landscape history and conservation at the Architectural Association and finally garden design at the Inchbald School of Design, where he graduated with a distinction – this journey developed a deep and intuitive understanding of garden and landscape design.
This was furthered by many years of practical experience under the watchful eye of Rosemary Verey, one of Britain's best-known and highly respected gardeners, and later alongside HRH The Prince of Wales at Highgrove, where James worked for seven years during the garden's most creative and well-regarded period.
As visiting tutor at the London College of Garden Design based at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, James has inspired and helped shape some of the UK's newest and emerging talents.
He has travelled widely. 'I am hugely influenced by dramatic landscapes that are essentially untouched by man. I am drawn to places that have an unworldly quality – deserts, the arctic, volcanic landscapes, alpine meadows. I love the sense of isolation, the fullness of life, of nature's ability to adapt to the most extreme circumstances in the most beautiful way. I am also acutely aware of the physiological effects of the colours within nature, particularly the abundance of green. The essences of all these influences combine and infuse my work.'
