David Boothman
David Boothman graduated from London College of Garden Design with Distinction in 2024, winning the coveted College Prize for ‘Top Student.’ Since graduating David has designed and built several gardens and his latest work can be viewed on his website . He also designed and built a 5-star award winning Main Avenue tradestand in conjunction with James Parker Sculpture at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025. David is a Pre-Registered member of the Society of Garden Designers and an Associate Member of BALI.
David brings a high level of professionalism, creativity and technical expertise to each garden design delivering garden transformations which help clients realise the full potential of their outdoor spaces.
David specialises in creating imaginative, sustainable, modern garden designs across a broad range of garden sizes and styles taking his inspiration from the natural world around him. At the heart of all his designs is a deep connection with the surrounding environment and landscape. His goal is to create gardens which feel rooted in their landscape and which are wildlife and insect friendly boosting biodiversity.
His design work is guided by 5 design principles:
1) Creative & Imaginative garden design
2) More planting, less hard landscaping
3) Wildlife & insect friendly gardens
4) Sustainable & considerate
5) A style designed around you
Working from his Hertfordshire studio, David offers a range of garden design services, from a comprehensive design & build service to smaller scale, more affordable planting design, for clients across the UK.
Biography:
David recently transitioned from a successful corporate career to pursue his lifelong passion for gardening, horticulture and garden design. David spent 30+ years working in and leading numerous well-known high street & customer facing businesses. David brings his passion for delivering customer satisfaction to his new business ‘David Boothman Garden Design.’
Instagram – @davidboothman_gardendesign
Designed and built, in conjunction with James Parker Sculpture, our Main Avenue tradestand won a coveted 5 stars at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025.
Inspired by the unique natural landscape of Galloway, the design celebrates the heather moorlands and wooded valley glades and combines them with James’ exquisite sculptures to create a Scottish Sculpture Garden. James’ sculpture is centre stage within the beautiful garden setting. A small piece of Galloway is brought to Chelsea.
The design received fabulous feedback from the RHS Judges and visitors alike and was in close contention for Best in Show Tradestand. Images are taken by Ellie Walpole.
1/3rd acre, gently sloping site wrapping around the modern, contemporary detached family home. The client wished to replace the lawn which surrounded the house with a garden which could be enjoyed all-year round from within the kitchen providing a place to sit, have a coffee, walk and enjoy. The design should deliver an impressive entrance to the house and link the house, pond, wildflower meadow and front garden together coherently.
The design takes its inspiration from the flowing Ranunculus vegetation forms found within the local chalk streams. The flowing design leads you through the loose, naturalistic planting along gravel pathways. Drought tolerant, pollinator friendly planting thrives within the open gravel conditions. Places to sit and relax soaking up the fragrant and colourful planting. The gravel garden grounds the modern home within the landscape. The planting is resilient, colourful, fragrant and pollinator friendly providing year-round interest. Native multi-stem trees accentuate vistas and views across the rolling Chiltern Hills.
A family home with an 8m x 15m (120sqm) rear garden. A large lawn area with planted border edging and an over powering conifer hedge in a neighbouring garden. The client brief was to create a modernist family garden which matched the contemporary home with inside-out living and entertainment spaces and low maintenance planting in scale with the size of the space. A design which removed the dominance of the neighbouring hedge.
The design of the garden takes the modern linear lines of the house to create a series of entertainment and relaxation terraces around the garden. The planting is inspired by the organic shapes of the inlets and vegetation of the Essex marshes to create a low maintenance gravel garden which provides colour, fragrance and interest across the seasons. Birch trees are used to remove the dominance of the conifer hedge.
A family home with an 8m x 40m (320sqm) rear garden. Large lawn area with established perennial borders. Steeply sloping site. The client brief was to create a modernist garden with entertaining spaces and low maintenance, year-round planting interest which blends seamlessly with the traditional 1850’s home and location. A garden that complements the beauty of the home.
The modern & contemporary home interior was extended into the garden to deliver spaces that felt linked together. The design focused on creating a large space for entertainment and relaxation immediately outside the conservatory with a seamless inside-out flow. This required significant excavation with retaining walls which were coherently matched to the bricks of the house.The owners were keen gardeners and the design features extensive low maintenance, drought tolerant & resilient planting which delivers year round interest. The design concept is grounded in the local Chilterns heritage landscape.
