James Clarke
James is designing a show garden for Tourism Thailand and Eva Air for the second time, after winning Silver Gilt for his first-ever show garden last year. RHS online decided to look into his credentials…
RHS Being a 3D designer for an exhibition company is an unusual day job for a show garden exhibitor. We want to know more…
Yes, it’s a strange background; I’ve worked for Elevations for eight years. A few years back I started thinking about making some changes and decided to study landscape architecture. I’m just finishing my MA now.
RHS What was it about landscape architecture that attracted you?
I suppose it’s about building something that lasts, that I can revisit, and that hopefully affects people’s lives in a good way. The 3D work I design at the moment is really short-lived.
RHS So being chosen to build the Tourism Thailand garden last year was very fortunate?
It was a complete fluke. Tourism Thailand is one of our long-standing clients and they were looking for someone to do the garden. I ended up presenting them with some sketches and they really liked them. It was incredibly late though - I only had about six weeks to get everything together, which was doubly difficult as I had no background in the business at all.
RHS Will this year be less nerve-racking then?
Last year I was really nervous but we pulled it off. This year we have had more time to plan things but it’s still quite stressful.
The point of the garden is to show that there’s more to Thailand than most people think
RHS Have the recent troubles in Thailand had any impact on preparations for the garden?
I was concerned myself, but I think, if anything, they’ve made the client more committed to go ahead, although I’m sure most visitors going to resorts in the south were unaffected. The point of the garden is to show that there’s more to Thailand than most people think.
RHS This year your garden is more naturalistic and less ornamental that last year’s; do you think there are aspects of it that people can use at home?
The garden represents a slice of Bangkok canal life and features a small garden with herbs and vegetables growing in it. If visitors are interested in Thai food, plants like lemongrass and chillies are quite easy to grow in this country, even though they may need overwintering indoors. I even grow a Thai lime plant in my kitchen so I have fresh leaves to use in cooking – much better than the dried ones.