Garden Writer & Designer · West Berkshire
Whether writing about gardens or designing them, I start with curiosity and end with a story.
About
After a career as a journalist on national newspapers including the Daily Mail, Telegraph and Press Association, I retrained as a garden designer at the English Gardening School. Whether writing about a garden or designing one, the instinct is the same: find the story.
Qualifications and experienceWriting
I bring a journalist's eye to garden writing: the habit of looking beyond the obvious, finding the angle that hasn't been done, and knowing what makes a reader stay to the end. Whether interviewing a designer, writing a practical feature, or exploring a garden, I write with authority and enthusiasm.
Current publication · Editor & Writer
The EGS Substack explores the world of garden design and horticulture: profiles of designers, topical debates, seasonal advice, garden write-ups.
Read on SubstackDesign
Look after the soil and the flowers will take care of themselves. Look at where a garden is coming from, and the design will speak for itself. Location, age, context, history, purpose — and above everything else, the people who will use it. These are my starting points. What follows is a design that makes sense of where it is.
Oxfordshire
A triangular site with challenging levels and a sweeping view that had to take centre stage. The design makes room for a growing family to inhabit different spaces from the centrepiece Bathing Orchard to a productive garden and firepit to enjoy dark skies together.
Work in progress
Wildlife garden
The owners of this garden at the heart of a village are keen to increase their privacy and create a wildlife haven where they can encourage as many birds, hedgehogs and insects as possible. Water will be the key here to encourage the wildlife, with a shelter belt of trees, shrubs and pollen-rich perennials to cater for all the garden's inhabitants.
Family garden
A family garden surrounding a red-brick cottage which needs to find room for children to get close to nature and somewhere for the parents to entertain. Fruit trees and a small vegetable plot will encourage lots of nature-driven interaction.
Contact
For writing commissions, design enquiries, or to talk about a garden — I'd be glad to hear from you.
jobutlermegaw@gmail.com