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Tom Simpson AWARD WINNING GARDEN DESIGN
TOM SIMPSON DESIGN IS AN AWARD-WINNING GARDEN DESIGN PRACTICE BASED IN LONDON BUT WITH CLOSE DARTMOUTH CONTACTS AND A GROWING PORTFOLIO OF PROJECTS HERE IN SOUTH DEVON. TOM TALKS TO BY THE DART
How long have you been a garden designer? “For 6 years. I trained at the London College Of Garden Design based at Kew Gardens, for a diploma in Garden Design where I graduated top of my class.”
Have you always wanted to be a garden designer? “No, I went first into the film industry after graduating from university. I worked in production on the set of various mainstream films such as The Theory Of Everything, Reds… and on TV serials such as Lewis and The Coroner which was filmed in/around the South Hams. “But immediately after graduation, I spent
a few months working for the well-known garden designers, Isabel and Julian Bannerman (who helped design part of the Prince of Wales’ Highgrove garden) helping them establish their new garden at Trematon Castle in Cornwall (now open to the public). That experience taught me that possibly I could pursue a career in this industry. I had always loved being outdoors and have visited so many National Trust gardens over the years with my family!
“After a while I tired of life on film sets and decided to do something completely different. Garden design attracted me because of the creativity it required. Designing gardens has never been something in my family but my grandfather was an architect and his grandfather before him was a professional artist – perhaps, there’s an artistic streak there somewhere. My parents were also always building or restyling houses.”
You’ve had some award-winning success at RHS Garden Shows? “Having visited the RHS Chelsea and Hampton Court Shows, I saw that designing a show garden required cutting edge design and was a great way of stretching and testing your design skills. Show gardens are a great way to demonstrate to the world what you’re capable of and helping you reach a wide audience and are a great way of getting a design practice established. “But I first had to apply to the RHS and find a sponsor as these gardens are expensive to build. I wanted to find a sponsor that had a personal connection. As my parents are based in
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