Helen Peel
I am a garden designer based in Twickenham, covering London and the Home Counties. I love the transformative effect which gardens can have on our lives, creating stunning spaces to relax, entertain and grow. I graduated from The London College of Garden Design in 2017 with Distinction.
Since ‘designing’ my own corner of Dad’s veggie patch at the age of seven I have been passionate about gardening and gardens. With one grandfather who won Gold Medals at Chelsea for his Irises, and the other a farmer in Herefordshire it seems it was in my blood. A desire to meaningfully impact the lives of others led me into a successful career in charities and fundraising, but after twenty years a career in garden design called.
The garden of this beautiful Dorset farmhouse needed a total redesign. The brief was for a garden which promotes mental and physical well-being, an antidote to a busy world, easing the stress of daily life. The design delivers a haven and escape from busy lives; an oasis to recuperate through meditation and yoga, or over a good meal and a bottle of wine. It also delivers endless opportunities for the owners to indulge their passion for growing their own organic produce in the walled garden, as well as scented and medicinal herbs and flowers throughout the garden.
This fantastic family garden in Hertfordshire needed something for everyone; a variety of spaces for the whole family to enjoy side-by-side. The design provides for sport, lounging, entertaining, as well as quiet spaces for contemplation. It allows the owners and their family and friends to use the garden together, with a happy awareness of other activities taking place without them impacting on each other.
The design for this urban garden in Surrey provides the owners with a sophisticated, adult garden for entertaining and a retreat from their busy lives. It frames the stunning views of the woodland at the end of the garden, and creates a landscape within the garden, with swathes of rolling clipped hedges and naturalistic planting.
