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If you’re thinking of coming on our one year Diploma in Garden Design course you might be interested to know about some of our current students. You can see more of their work and other students on the student gallery page.
Jono Smart
 Having studied Business Management and then Classical History, I began a 6 year career in advertising. Working on the likes of Mercedes, Cadburys & Capital One, I focused on the strategic planning side of things. However, after being amazed by Chelsea 2009 and with a determination to create something that lasts longer than an advert, I decided to make a pretty dramatic career change and join LCGD. A fan of the likes of Claude Cormier and Martha Schwartz, I am excited about the possibilities of making outside spaces that run against the grain and stick in the mind. Jono is now working for Luciano Giubbilei.
 Smita Das
I only discovered the joys of having a garden when I finally got one a couple of years ago. I quickly realised how important these little sanctuaries are and what a difference they can make to peoples’ lives. Having worked in the city as an IT professional for seven years, I decided to change direction and pursue a career in designing gardens. I hope to work on community oriented projects as well as delivering beautiful private gardens for all kinds of folk. When I’m not studying furiously for my garden design diploma I spend my spare time practicing yoga, a philosophy I hope will resonate in my design work too.
Louise Harries
 I studied psychology and subsequently trained to become a primary teacher teaching for 3 years including 2 years abroad. I then found myself in marketing and worked for several London agencies working on clients including Selfridges, Tesco and The Guardian newspaper. After having a baby I wanted to retrain and more recently my enjoyment of plants, people and design has collided and garden design seemed to be the perfect combination of these elements. I attended a 10 week short course at Chelsea Physic Garden in 2008 which whetted my appetite and gave me an appreciation for how much I still needed to learn before having the confidence to practise as a garden designer. Louise now works with Sam Martin.
 Henrietta Murray-Wicks
Having previously worked as a project manager/designer for a design and construction company and with acquiring the RHS certificate in horticulture, I was keen to further develop my knowledge of the garden design industry. The LCGD course offered both the landscaping and design aspect, being trained by exceptional tutors but also focused on successful business management and computer drawing skills that are invaluable within the industry.
I have also found it excellent to be lectured by specialists on topics such as trees and naturalistic planting and to receive a variety of different perspectives from informative speakers. The additional site visits to stone suppliers and nurseries also provides useful future contacts. Henrietta has won the Society of Garden Designers 2010 Graphic Illustration Awards for her work on the Diploma course.
Henrietta is now working for Andy Sturgeon.
 Ruth Ayoubi
Having had a long and successful career in Human Resources working for a large multinational, it was returning to the UK from an assignment in the USA that finally prompted me to make a career change. I had a long-standing love of gardens and had studied for my RHS Certificate in Horticulture a few years before. I also had a deep seated desire for a more creative career and having dabbled at designing gardens for family and friends I felt that garden design would combine the things I love with my skills and experience and give me the creative outlet I was looking for.
The change of direction was a big decision and so I put a lot of time and effort into selecting the course that was right for me. LCGD ticked all the boxes, combining teaching of design, plants, business management, construction and both hand and CAD drawing techniques with the opportunity to learn from great tutors.
A month after completing my Diploma I am currently setting up my design practice in partnership with another Diploma student, Zoya Jordan. It's been really busy getting the business up and running and developing the website. We also have our first three clients (one I met at Chelsea and one came about through college) - so it's been a great start.
 Fiona Silk
After working in advertising and marketing in London for nearly a decade, I decided to take a break and moved to Japan for a few years to train in karate and indulge my love of all things Japanese. Garden design was something that I'd thought about for a long time, as it seemed to combine my love of design and the outdoors with my desire to move out of a conventional office environment, and when I returned to the UK I decided to bite the bullet and re-train.
looked at various colleges but chose the LCGD as it offered such a broad curriculum, giving equal emphasis to design theory, planting and hard landscaping. I also felt that the strong industry links would stand me in good stead, and indeed they did, as I completed my work experience with Andy Sturgeon during the Spring holiday, and have had numerous opportunities to help out other designers, including on Nigel Dunnett's garden at Chelsea 2011.
Now that I've graduated, my goals are in the shorter term are to secure work within a design company in order to continue learning and developing my skills in tandem with getting my own clients, and to submit (and hopefully build) a garden for one of next years RHS shows. In the medium to long term, I'd like to make a success of my business, hopefully leading to that elusive gold medal at Chelsea!
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