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Humaira Ikram, the voice of the future

Humaira is a practising garden designer and runs the Diploma in Garden Design at the KLC School of Design. She is also a Gardens Advisor at RHS Hyde Hall, an RHS judge, and a vocal advocate for underrepresented groups in the horticultural world

Is lack of diversity still an issue in horticulture?

To be honest, the word diversity makes me come out in a cold sweat. I think the real issue is equality. It doesn’t matter to me where you’re from, what colour you are, whether you are a man or a woman, rich or poor. If you can do something, I’d like you to have access to do it to the best of your ability. And to feel professional, have confidence, and be able to do your job well enough to earn a living doing it.

Humaira Ikram
Is there a financial barrier to getting into design?

There certainly has been, because accredited design courses can be extremely expensive. When I trained, fees were relatively modest and I got a student loan to cover my costs. That isn’t so available now, which means that most people need private funding. After several years of lobbying, I’ve managed to secure a bursary for the course I run so I’m really excited. It’s not enough, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Why does it matter what background our designers and landscape architects come from?

Access to green spaces is an issue for all of us. If you grew up with a garden, you may not understand how uncomfortable someone may feel walking into one for the first time, and it isn’t just physical barriers that we have to consider. We all bring our own unconscious biases to our work, which can affect people from different backgrounds in different ways. I want to design spaces and have my students design spaces where everyone feels welcome, and the best way to achieve that is to have garden designers from as wide a range of backgrounds as possible.

Do you think the industry of garden creation is doing enough when it comes to sustainability?

Often these days there are sustainability criteria in design briefs, but they can sometimes feel like a bit of an add-on. I remind my students that we are all part of nature, and we should work respectfully with the land of which we are custodians. Garden designers may have had a tendency in the past to want to start gardens from scratch. I would like people to take a more mindful approach. I want them to think about what they are trying to achieve, and what they can reuse to achieve it. They should be able to make a space better without creating problems further down the line. We could and should try harder.

How do you go about bringing the change that you think the industry needs?

To make things happen you have to go out and talk to people. I like chatting to people, but networking is a different skill and sometimes difficult, but that’s how you get change. I try to share the message that people can have exciting careers in horticulture, but there is still a conversation to be had about how we value these roles and how much people get paid. At RHS Hyde Hall in my role as a horticultural advisor I often discuss things like accessibility issues and communication with the public. This is a voluntary role so there’s a limit to how much I personally can afford to do, but we all need to get out there and make newcomers feel like this amazing world of gardening, that we are all so lucky to be part of, is for them too. 

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