James Rowland
I aspire to design outside spaces that are an extension of the home, complimenting its architecture and surrounding landscape whilst providing an intimate connection between people and nature.
With conceptual design at its core, the garden should take you on a journey and invoke a sense of mystery that makes you want to explore it, whether it be through a dream-like planting scheme, alluring pathways sweeping you to a captivating destination or blurred naturalistic borders that amplify a beautiful landscape beyond. Every space is different and unique and this should be celebrated in order to reach its true potential.
Biography:
A lifelong passion for writing and recording music, which started with winning a battle of the bands aged 16 and being invited by Michael Eavis to play at Glastonbury Festival, to more recently receiving airplay from the likes of Steve Lamacq at BBC Radio 6 Music, my creative and curious nature has been opened to a whole new world upon discovering a passion for Garden Design and Construction. This was ignited when I started to tackle my own 400 square-meter London garden. It was on a steep slope in 2 directions, poorly laid out and falling apart. I decided to take a short Introduction to Garden Design course at Capel Manor College to help with the design, and a short Bricklaying course to help with the construction. I learnt many skills needed to construct a garden over the space of 2 years, including building retaining walls and even driving a digger!
I then decided I would like to move into this professionally so enrolled at the World-renowned London College of Garden Design to study for the Garden Design Diploma.
Instagram: @jamesrowlandgardendesign
Cambridge Cottage is a Grade II listed former Royal residence located in a quiet corner of Kew Gardens. The garden itself opens into the main gardens at Kew but also maintains a sense of separation. The Client brief was to create a garden suitable for hosting outdoor wedding ceremonies, and to act as an extension of the building for wedding receptions. Occasionally the venue would also be used to host private parties and conferences.
The building’s most striking feature is a beautiful curved bay which became the focal point of my concept – everything can be pinpointed to a single point within the bay, representing the start of a marriage and growing a life together. The explorers path represents the twists and turns that life can sometimes take.
The perennial meadow style planting is generally no higher than around 1.2 meters in height. This is so that wedding parties do not become disjointed – everybody remains visible when standing but there is a sense of added privacy when seated on one of the more secluded retreat benches.
The clipped Yew hedging and rows of ornamental trees add spatial definition and the large eastern terrace can accommodate 80 seated guests for an outdoor ceremony.
The garden was on a slope and mainly just lawn to the rear with scattered parking taking up most of the front garden. The brief was to create a low maintenance garden with lots of entertaining areas to enjoy the garden from at different times of the day. The clients also liked to play Bocce and required a flat rectangular lawn for this.
I set out to create a garden with a clean line structure designed to complement the mid-century to modern architectural style of the house. This was then contrasted and softened with naturalistic planting that spilled over the border edges.
Southwood Farm is a 5 acre site that I designed in Somerset. The majority of it was an empty field, but with glorious views to the East. The main aim was to amplify this view whilst creating a greater sense of privacy. I used spoil from the new lake and swimming pool to landform the Eastern boundary, providing a seamless view to the rolling hills beyond that could be enjoyed from one of the 3 main terraces. I also repurposed the barns and connected the house more to its surroundings.
