After thirty year in horticulture – including twelve at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens as a Botanical Horticulturist – Wes Shawnow offer his services as a freelance Garden Designer and Consultant .
He has also antecedently worked as Head Gardener at the Horniman Museum & Gardens in London and still spends some of his days redact his horticulture skills to habituate by tending to a garden in Surrey .
I verbalize to Wesabout his love of travel , why he care to see plants growing in their natural habitat and his plan for the future .
How Did You First Get Into Gardening?
“ It all start when I began working at a local nursery that producedbedding plantsafter school , ” share Wes .
“ It was a outstanding place to read the fundamentals of horticulture and germinate a work ethic that has help methroughout my career . Also , during that prison term I worked with a local landscaper and looked after a few gardens , which were other great learning experiences .
“ I was in my mid - twenty when my mum encouraged me to go for a task at Kew Gardens . I somehow got it and ended up working there for twelve long time , six of which I spent managing the famous Palm House ’s live solicitation .
“ I had a fab time at Kew and then go on to work as Head of Horticulture at the Horniman Museum & Gardens in South London and looked after Sky Garden at the top of the famous Walkie - Talkie building .
“ I am now a full - sentence freelance specialising in planting design and horticultural consultancy . ”
What Attracted You To A Career In Garden Design?
“ I think it was the desire to become self - apply and not have to work for other multitude anymore , ” he tell .
“ When go as a Head Gardener , I was spending more and more clip on deadening project like staff direction and admin and beget further out from working with plant .
“ So , I take the leap and open it all up to concentrate on my own work .
“ I do n’t really call myself a Garden Designer , I choose to be described as a Professional Horticulturist . Design is one aspect of my work and it ’s in the main planting design rather than full garden makeovers .
“ I also expect after a pair of high - end garden and work with other designers and landscape architects by advising on any aspect of horticulture within their project . I love the variety of what I do now . ”
What Does your Process For Designing Gardens Look Like?
“ My innovation operation is in all probability like most designers , in that I start with sketching out ideas which bit by bit evolve into a theme or layout , ” Wes share .
“ I utilize CAD to transfer this to a master or a planting architectural plan . SketchUp is my program of choice for everything , as it ’s affordable software program that does the job and is middling comfortable to use . ”
What Are You Inspired By?
“ My inspiration comes from the natural worldly concern and I ’m a freehanded counsel of travel as much as possible to see how plant life arise in their natural home ground .
“ I especially like naturalistic designing based on grassland habitats .
“ Over the last few twelvemonth , I ’ve made a mates of trip-up to the Mid - west of the US to look at the persist Prairie habitats – and also spent a week this year in the Dolomites in Northern Italy studying the alpine meadows . ”
Do You Have A Particular Favourite Memory Of A Garden You Have Designed?
“ One that outpouring to mind is the bee garden I designed whilst working at the Horniman Museum & Gardens , as it was a howling project that the team and I completed during lockdown and on a really besotted budget , ” explains Wes .
“ It wasa wildlife gardenplanted withbee - favorable plant , bug hotels and an area of wildflower meadow . The centrepiece of the garden was a carving by local Artist and EnvironmentalistDr Jasmine Pradissitto .
“ The bit was called ‘ FlowerGirl ’ and was made from a cloth predict Noxsorb , a geopolymer that absorbs NO₂ pollution from the air . NO₂ has been found to cloak the smell of blossom and keep bee from finding food.1Shaw , W. ( 2020 , July 23).Helping bee thrive on the South Circular . Horniman Museum & Gardens . Retrieved August 17 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/BeeGarden_FINAL.pdf
“ Whilst working together on the Garden , Jasmine fall for my charm and horticulture accomplishment and we have been together for 3 long time now , so this task was definitely a special one ! ”
What Does A Day In Your Working Life Typically Look Like?
“ I spend 2 day a week appear after a beautiful garden surrounding one of the Lutyens Houses in the Surrey Hills , ” he order .
“ Other days may call for run around greenhouse find fault up plants for a finicky undertaking and I ordinarily have at least a day a hebdomad working from dwelling house on design projects .
“ mold for myself has definitely improved my work - life-time proportion and I always manage to gibe in the gymnasium or some tennis in the afternoon . ”
What Is Your Favourite Time Of Year To Be In The Garden?
“ Spring and autumn , without a dubiety , ” Wes share .
“ I perfectly love the change in season and how it affects the plants and the natural humanity . For me , summertime is when everything turns brown for a few months and you have to try and keep everything active . ”
What’s Next For You?
“ My plan for the next duad of years is to push the consultancy side of my work more by build up a freehanded guest base .
“ I would like to work with more urban designers and be involved with the planting design side of urban planning . I would also hump to do another project with my other half Jasmine , as the combining of sculpture and plants can be really special .
“ I think to keep travelling and eruditeness , and hope my next trip is to the grasslands of South America . ”
Do You Have Any Advice For Those Thinking Of Giving Garden Design A Go?
“ My top hint to any bud designers is to not pretermit your flora knowledge , ” he advises .
“ I see a lot of intriguer that have expend a yoke of days training and come out with the attainment to create a spacial layout of a garden and bring about skillful render , but the planting is not serious and this ordinarily contemplate on the garden a yr or two after mop up .
“ Plants either do n’t give in good order or do n’t execute because of the deficiency of noesis about their needs and requirements .
“ All garden designers should try and get experience as a hands - on gardener for a few years to really understand how works work within a garden and how a garden is maintain . ”
