Read more about the designers of the Bowel Research UK Microbiome Garden in the All About Plants category at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024
Chris has over 16 years of experience working in the landscape industry, both in practical and design – based roles. Chris runs his own company
Greenbook Landscape Design and is a permanent presenter on BBC Garden Rescue. He has won the Pro Landscaper’s 30 Under 30 Award and has work featured in Pro Landscaper magazine and Dream Garden magazine.
Having always worked outdoors in hands-on roles, Chris started out as a gardener, learning the fundamentals before venturing into the design and landscaping world. His early training in ecology and conservation led him to make this a huge consideration in the work he carries out. He then completed his BSc (Hons) in Garden Design at Sparsholt College. Combining these skills, Chris creates practical gardens with considered planting schemes that are not only beautiful but benefit the wider environment. Having first-hand experience of mental health issues in his family, Chris’s design direction stems from the immersive beauty of gardens and their positive effect on wellbeing. Chris believes that people should be at the heart of any project and their needs must work in harmony to support the natural world around them.
Chris says: “I spent a lot of working with my step-dad in woodlands, doing logging, hedge laying and other traditional rural skills. Growing up in the Devon countryside just made me have such an appreciation for the outdoors. I design well considered gardens that meet a client’s brief whilst also being sympathetic to their surroundings. My gardens are well grounded, using strong shapes as the basis of the design, that are then all connected with heaps of planting. I always aim to include bespoke elements, interesting construction methods and source my materials sustainably.”
Sid was home-educated and spent his childhood gardening on his parents’ smallholding. He recieved his first vegetable garden at 10 years old and set up a gardening business at 15. He now has 15 years of professional experience running a landscape business after having trained at the world- renowned
Eden Project, receiving a 1st Class Honours degree in Ethnobotany & Landscape Design. He has worked on a wide range of projects, giving him international recognition. With work featuring on BBC Gardeners’ World, BBC A Country Summer, Gardens Illustrated Magazine, Garden Masterclass and he spoke recently at the Beth Chatto Symposium, “Rewilding The Mind”. For his work and commitment to sustainability, Sid was awarded the Prince Of Wales Trophy in Sustainable Horticulture and is a member of the Worshipful Company Of Gardeners Alumni. He was awarded the 30 Under 30 Award by Pro Landscaper magazine.
Sid says: “Both my parents are keen gardeners and were my initial inspiration. They home-schooled me and rather than sit in a classroom I spent my childhood tending the land. When I was 15 I became very upset about the state of the world and the impact humans are having. I was inspired by the incredible work permaculturists were having across the globe. Regreening deserts, creating edible ecosystems and replenishing landscapes with water. This important work is what has motivated my ‘style’. My focus is on creating landscapes and plantings that echo wild plant communities, meadows, woodlands and wetlands, while producing resources, restoring environments and improving people’s lives. I am passionate about working with plants to tackle contemporary issues.”
See their garden
Bowel Research UK Microbiome Garden
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