13 Mar
Top 10 garden designers to follow on Instagram
Introducing the avant-garde garden designers you should be watching out for if you love everything to do with horticulture and landscaping.
Whether you are embarking on a vast landscape development project or only looking for some new window box ideas, Instagram can be a great source of inspiration. It is helpful to discover the styles garden designers might be going for and to see how their creations grow from a simple sketched scheme to a real, vibrant, living space.
Of course, you can do a simple search using relevant hashtags, or you could spend some time browsing your news feed. However, for this article, we decided to speak to garden designers themselves to see who they recommend following. From RHS gold-winning designers to planting specialists with fascinating insights into the world of gardens – see which green-fingered experts have the most thought-provoking Instagram feeds.
1. Pollyanna Wilkinson
Polly likes to merge traditional hard landscaping materials with delicate planting to create timeless gardens that suit the needs of each client. She has plenty of awards under her belt, and it is no wonder! Her abilities have won her an RHS Silver Gilt for her conceptual garden at Hampton Court Flower Show 2018 and a Silver Medal and People’s Choice Award for Hampton Court Flower Show 2019.
Follow Polly for planting ideas, insights into her design process, and inspiring before/after shots of her work. A real Instagram pro, she shares moments from her personal life too, telling the story of someone who loves to travel, with the occasional floral outfit thrown in for good measure.
2. Fisher Tomlin & Bowyer
We really enjoyed speaking to Andrew Fisher Tomlin last year when he shared his brilliant garden lighting tips for our blog. Andrew is a chartered horticulturist and has been Chairman of Selection at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, a visiting lecturer at the V&A Museum in London and a teacher at the London College of Garden Design. Together with Dan Bowyer, Andrew runs Fisher Tomlin & Bowyer, which has won gold at a host of RHS garden shows. They have managed festivals and shows across in the world including countries such as Amsterdam, Istanbul and Australia to name a few.
They often share images of plants with insightful comments, so this is an ideal account to follow if you have an interest in all things botanical.
3. Butter Wakefield
Butter is a wonderful garden designer and a generally lovely person to get along with too. Butter has a beautiful home in London, which you can see featured in House & Garden here. Her intuitive sense of style comes through in the photos she shares on her Instagram profile, which is a delight to look through. Butter tends to stick to a natural palette of greens and greys in her feed and makes it look well considered and polished. She likes to share what she’s getting up to, posting snapshots of flower arrangements, interiors and family life.
4. Alexander Hoyle
Alexander represents everything that is wonderful about garden designers on Instagram. He has his finger on the pulse and always shares achingly beautiful shots of landscapes, plants and stately homes. What comes across so well is his passion for the great outdoors, period romantic buildings, and the changing seasons. His 53,900 followers agree with us!
5. Beth Williams
Kent-based garden designer Beth Williams works on a range of domestic and commercial projects, and her skills earned her a Gold medal and Best in Show at RHS Hampton Court. Beth’s feed has a wild and forlorn aesthetic with dark woodland shots, quiet lakes and magnificent cloudy skies. Beth is a talented artist, and will often share images of her recent pencil sketches and ink paintings.
6. Paul Hervey-Brookes
Paul has the ideal mix of horticulture-meets-artist, which makes for a highly refined Instagram feed. In his time, he has won 12 Gold RHS medals and is a regular speaker at societies and RHS Flower Shows, including Hampton Court, Malvern Spring Festival and Tatton Park. He also writes for magazines and develops products for brands like Bradstone and Marks & Spencer. Expect to see snaps of rustic country interiors, garden designs and artwork.
7. Naomi Ferrett-Cohen
In 2018, Naomi drew attention to the stigma that HIV sufferers face on a daily basis, through The Cherub HIV Garden: A Life Without Walls at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. That is the magic of these show gardens; they can tell a story and raise awareness for causes that need it the most. When you follow a designer through the process of designing an RHS show garden, you see the hard work and dedication that goes into its creation. Not just from the designer but also from the landscapers, sponsors and associated charities too.
8. Lara Behr
This inspirational garden designer combines close-up photos of plants, botanical illustrations, planting schemes, mood boards and interiors. Her feed has a sophisticated look, and you fully appreciate the horticultural expertise that goes into designing each garden.
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9. The Outdoor Room
The Outdoor Room is a multi-award winning landscaping company and is often chosen by garden designers to build their RHS Chelsea Show Gardens. They are a great business to follow if you are interested in seeing the innovative methods and products used to produce such amazing gardens. As a team, they have bundles of energy – expect to see insider snaps of award ceremonies, stone paving close-ups and completed gardens.
10. London College of Garden Design
The London College of Garden Design offers training and classes, which usually take place at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. If you are looking for an up and coming designer, their Instagram feed is a great account to follow. They share images of gardens created by their students, teachers, partners and ambassadors.
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