Kate Gould
Kate is one of the key designers to watch this year. She has exhibited three times at Chelsea - her last two gardens not only picking up prestigious Gold Medals but also winning Best Garden in their categories. Her 2010 Urban Garden is entitled ‘A Joy Forever’ and is sponsored by Hartman UK, the garden furniture company.
Royal Horticultural Society You’ve had fantastic success at Chelsea with small gardens – why not go big this year?
Kate Gould It’s almost impossible to find that level of sponsorship. This is the first year I’ve had a sponsor - the RHS introduced me to Hartman UK. I’ve always self-funded in the past. It would be lovely to do a show garden, but it’s terribly difficult to step up a size.
RHS How do you approach your design?
KG I’m relatively untrained, I didn’t go to Inchbald, KLC or anywhere like that, but my mother’s family were all hobby gardeners and my father was a tailor and pattern cutter. He taught me to look at area, so for me the beginning of the design is all about the space and how I’m going to use it, not so much about the decorative aspects.
RHS It’s not that long to go now – how are the stress levels?
KG I love Chelsea - I see it as a break from work. The secret to sanity is to have a really good landscape contractor. The Garden Builders built my last Chelsea garden and also most of my day-to-day gardens. I have a really good relationship with them.
The Gold Medals and Best Gardens awards open up a whole new world.
RHS What are the effects of showing at Chelsea?
KG The first garden (which won Silver) allows you to say that you’ve got a medal at Chelsea. In the public’s eye you’re elevated slightly – it means you must know what you’re talking about and I suppose that means you don’t have to sell yourself so hard. The Gold medals and Best Garden awards open up a whole new world. You get more exciting work, not just domestic work but commercial work like urban regeneration projects which are very interesting and worthwhile.
RHS Gold medal and Best Garden twice – what a result!
KG When I realised I had got a Gold I was off down the showground with it before they could decide they’d made a mistake and take it away again! I wasn’t surprised I didn’t’ get a Gold medal for my first garden because it’s such a huge learning curve - even if you’ve designed hundreds of gardens, Chelsea’s just so different, it’s all fakery and trickery, magic and mirrors.
RHS So Gold again this year then?
KG You can jinx people with that kind of talk! Seriously I’d be happy with a Silver-Gilt or Silver and it is the taking part that’s important.