About Us

JH Garden Design is owned and managed by Jonathan Hall. Jonathan personally oversees every design project that is undertaken by the practice. Jonathan is a fully qualified garden and landscape designer who has worked on variable and challenging garden projects from Chelsea Flower Show gardens to large country gardens abroad, right down to the smallest of courtyard gardens for domestic clients in the UK.

Jonathan studied at the Pickard School of Garden Design based at the Museum of Garden History in Lambeth, London. He passed the postgraduate diploma with flying colours. Before this, Jonathan had obtained garden design qualifications at City & Guilds level. In 2004 Jonathan was awarded a silver medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for The Woolworths Garden in the large show gardens category. Jonathan has also joined a small elite group of designers in the UK who have an M.A. in Landscape and Garden Design. He studied at Staffordshire University and graduated with a merit. Together, with this MA qualification, postgraduate diploma and an RHS Chelsea medallist, Jonathan is probably the most qualified garden designer in the county.

Q. What sort of person do you find employs a garden designer?
Jonathan: More and more people are realising the value of employing a garden designer. Nowadays almost anybody could ring me but they tend to be busy people who tend to be cash rich and time poor. Often they are professionals or perhaps reaching retirement.

Q. Cash rich and time poor ! - what do you mean ?
Jonathan: Often my clients would like to have a better garden but don’t have the time or the inclination to do it themselves. They tend to appreciate that spending money on their garden will not be particularly cheap but any investment made will be good value for money.

Q. What benefits do you think your clients see?
Jonathan: Clients end up with a stunning looking garden that they use a lot more and sometimes even enjoy maintaining! Maintenance in fact takes a lot less time and the garden as a whole will become a valuable asset that will increase the value of their property.

Q. Can a well designed garden really make that sort of a difference?
Jonathan: Oh yes, my clients write and tell me so! They tend to find that they have more time to do things they want to do instead of maintaining their garden, they see an increase in their property value when they come to sell. Sometimes they find themselves a new hobby as they become increasingly more interested in plants, wildlife and their surrounding environment. However without fail they all discover the joys of having a garden to be proud of and that can be used and enjoyed.

Q. Mmmm interesting, so give us an example of someone you have helped?
Jonathan: Well I have just finished a garden for a recently retired couple. Both were worried that as old age set in they would have to move from their house as the garden was going to become more difficult and expensive to maintain. I completely redesigned their garden adding new areas of planting, a seating area and reducing the lawn area too. Now their garden is much more manageable, looks stunning and has given the owners a much more useable garden to entertain family and friends - now that they are retired. The clients now feel that they can continue to live in their house for another 20 years at least!

Q. ..And the increase in property value ?
Jonathan: Funny you should mention that ! I was just speaking to an previous client the other day who’s garden we designed about three years ago. She telephone me to say that the first person to view her garden made an offer on her house at the full asking price there and then.

Q. That’s fantastic !
Jonathan : It certainly was ! The purchaser commented that they didn’t want anybody else getting their hands on such a garden.

Q. Your client must have been delighted?
Jonathan: Indeed, so much so she booked a consultation for me to design her garden at her new house. It is always a good feeling when clients return to you.

Q. What do you think has been your most exciting project?
Jonathan: Every project makes me excited and designing abroad was great fun, but probably the experience of designing a large Chelsea Flower Show garden for Woolworths must be near the top.

Q. What did you enjoy about it ?
Jonathan : Oh everything ! The build up to the show, the planting, meeting the celebrities on press day, the whole event was great. I did enjoy talking to the general public on the actual show days as well - they were so encouraging and really loved the garden.

Q. And did you win a medal?
Jonathan: Yes a silver - which I was very pleased with. A lot of first time designers at Chelsea win nothing !

Q. You must have been very proud?
Jonathan : Yes I was. The day I got my medal I slept with it under my pillow!

Q. Is it still there ?
Jonathan : No, my wife made me put it back in the drawer!

Q. Why do you think people attend the Chelsea Flower Show?
Jonathan: A lot visitors enjoy the show gardens, especially the smaller ones, mainly so that they can pick up tips and ideas for designing their own gardens.

Q. So do you think people can design their own garden then?
Jonathan: With a lot of research, time and patience most people could have a reasonable stab at it. However, it’s a bit like me making a cake. I can knock up a passable victoria sandwich, but if it is a choice between my cake and a cake made by a professional cook like Delia Smith, I know which one I would prefer to be eating!

Q. Finally, what do you think of the future for garden design?
Jonathan: The competition is very tough and clients are becoming more sophisticated in their needs, which is a good thing, as standards will be driven higher. There is still some misunderstandings in the industry generally, that as garden designers we must work hard on so that clients become better informed. I am often shown gardens where thousands and thousands of pounds have been spend, I can’t help feeling that for the same amount of money or maybe a little bit more, if a garden designer had been used in the first instance the whole thing would look an awful lot better. The value of design in a landscaping project can never be underestimated.

Q. Thanks for taking the time to speak to us today.
Jonathan : It’s been a pleasure. Thank you.