Ruskin Mill Trust – Artisan Woodland Craft Garden

The garden

The Ruskin Mill Trust – Artisan Woodland Craft Garden celebrates the transformative journey of taking raw materials from nature and shaping them into purposeful objects. This process, described by Ruskin Mill Trust as ‘descent into matter’, engages hand, head, heart and place, and is central to the self-development of children and young people with learning disabilities. The garden, created as a learning environment, also evokes the woodlands of the Horsley Valley, where the first Ruskin Mill College was established.

A winding path draws the eye to a central circular space – a place to work, rest or reflect after a day of learning. Charred oak setts, hazel wattle fencing and traditional ash furniture are crafted by a skilled artisan through green woodworking, while native species often dismissed as ‘weeds’, such as Carex pendula (large sedge) and Prunella vulgaris (selfheal) will be planted alongside Polystichum polyblepharum (Japanese lace fern) and swaying grass Deschampsia cespitosa, capturing the essence of the woodland edge.

A legacy project for the designer, who has both a personal and professional connection with Ruskin Mill College, this beautiful and practical space shows how the organisation’s holistic methods to specialist education is making a difference both locally and nationally.

The planting

The planting is typical of a woodland edge, with many native species and some garden forms that enjoy shadier spots with dappled sunshine.

Key plants:

• Carex pendula: a tall clump forming grass, common to woodlands and considered a weed in gardens, the team want to celebrate this giant as a space creator, with its giant fishing rod flower spikes

• Polystichum polyblepharum (Japanese lace fern): a large fern, which represents the essence of a woodland

• Fragaria vesca: this delicate little creeping strawberry is a delight to children and an excellent spreader, that is great in any garden

• Deschampsia cespitosa: a light, soft, swooshing woodland grass with clouds of light flower heads, this typifies the woodland edge and is also a great plant for any border

• Corylus avellana: the key tree for coppice woodland and habitat for dormice - this grows fast and the height can be controlled by cutting. It is useful for garden plant supports and weaving screens, provides shade and of course nuts, a great garden addition

Plants supplied by: Old Sodbury Tree and Plant Nursery, Kelways Plants

The designer – Rachael Austin

​Rachael is a Chartered Landscape Architect and professional Garden Designer with over 25 years’ experience creating gardens rooted in the natural character of their surroundings. Based in the Stroud Valleys in Gloucestershire, she is a qualified arboriculturist and holds memberships of both the Landscape Institute and the Society of Garden Designers.

Rachael co-founded Austin Design Works alongside her brother, architect Matt Austi.  A B Corp-certified studio, it specialises in the integration of architecture and landscape design across residential, heritage and community projects in the Cotswolds and beyond. The practice was relaunched 10 years ago, continuing a family legacy in design that their father and grandfather established before them. Among the clients they inherited from him is Ruskin Mill Trust, whose unique philosophy of practical skills education rooted in craft, land and nature makes them a particularly cherished part of the studio’s work.

In 2025, Rachael was selected to design the Society of Garden & Landscape Designers’ tradestand at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, awarded four gold stars, with her concept chosen unanimously for its creativity and compelling narrative capturing the transformative journey from design dream to finished garden. 

About the sponsor – Ruskin Mill Trust 

Ruskin Mill Trust is one of the UK’s leading organisations providing holistic education and care for children, young people and adults with special educational needs and disabilities, inspired by the work of John Ruskin, William Morris and Rudolf Steiner.

With thanks to additional sponsors: Natural Grower, Elmtree Building Services, BTA Structural Design, Old Sodbury Tree and Plant Nursery, Everedge, Allgreen, Practicality Brown, Austin Design Works, Greener Landscapes, Woven Wood, Blue Diamond Garden Centres, Nailsworth, Voltaire’s Wood

The garden legacy

The garden will be re-built in a slightly different form at Ruskin Mill Trust’s Grace Garden School, located in Westbury on Trym, Bristol.