hello@dakicgardens.co.uk
https://dakicgardens.co.uk
Dakic Garden Design
07760129222
Graduation year: 2025/26 PDD
Briony Dakic
I’m a garden designer and horticulturist with a passion for creating characterful, immersive gardens that feel connected to their setting and the people who use them. With a strong horticultural background, planting sits at the heart of my work, using colour, texture, structure and seasonal change to create gardens that are both beautiful and engaging throughout the year.
My approach is led by the individuality of each site rather than a particular design formula or trend. I enjoy combining strong design ideas with thoughtful, sometimes unexpected planting, creating spaces that feel distinctive while remaining practical and sympathetic to their surroundings. Whether working with a historic garden, a contemporary space or something more theatrical, I believe gardens should have personality, tell a story and, above all, feel like they belong.
Biography:
Briony Dakic is a garden designer and horticulturist whose career began in 2008, giving her an extensive practical understanding of plants, gardens and how landscapes develop over time. After studying horticulture at Merrist Wood, where she was named Student of the Year in 2011, she went on to gain experience across the industry, including working with the National Trust, before establishing her own gardening business, Howe’s Your Garden in 2021 and together with her husband Dakic Garden Design in 2025.
Years spent working hands-on in private gardens ultimately led Briony towards garden design, combining her horticultural knowledge with a love of colour, unusual planting combinations and spaces with a strong sense of character. She graduated from the London College of Garden Design at Kew Gardens in 2026, where she further developed a planting-led approach that balances creativity with a practical understanding of how gardens are actually maintained and experienced.
Briony has also developed a particular love for show gardens. Her Alice in Wonderland 160th Unbirthday garden at the BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair 2025 was awarded Platinum, Best in Category and the Public Choice Award. This was followed by The Heart of the Jungle at BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2026, an immersive tropical-inspired walk-through garden awarded a Silver Merit.
As an autistic designer, Briony brings her own perspective to the way she observes gardens, particularly her fascination with detail, pattern, colour, texture and the relationships between plants. Rather than following a prescribed design style, she enjoys finding the individual character of a site and creating gardens that are memorable, personal and sometimes a little unexpected.
Alongside her design work, Briony continues to work practically with gardens and plants — an important part of her approach and one that keeps her designs firmly connected to the realities of how gardens grow, change and mature.
Instagram: @dakicgardendesign
Facebook: @Dakic-Garden-Design
BBC Gardeners World Spring Fair – our first small show garden utilising our horticultural flare with colourful planting for a woodland setting, props integrated with nods to the characters. The garden was a 9m2 with a theatrical settings including a upside-down wedding cake, mushrooms and other trinkets. The public enjoyed the history used and the fantastic planting we created.
BBC Gardeners World Live Show – The Heart of the Jungle – a tropical garden using hardy plants that survive the UK! Bold pink arches for year round structure, heart shaped paving walks around the architectural planting leading to a gazebo, a stunning cast stone bespoke water feature draws the visitor into a different world. Visitors loved the walked on experience, bold colour schemes and characters of the planting and structures throughout.
Small rear garden based north of Chichester. Garden originally designed by John Brookes, we redesigned using similar colour palettes. New planting created with Moroccan plants and a small nod to the original designer with a pair of blue chairs.
