Marina Randall
For me, gardens are a gateway to feelings. They should restore you and give you energy, but also help you feel a sense of connection. I love simplicity of design, stripping back noise and finding the elements that when put together create a quiet, but powerful song.
I like to find emotion in every element of design, from the way you move through space and how that makes you feel, to the careful combination of plants and forms, and how that can slow you down or re-centre your attention. My goal is of course to elevate your experience whilst in the garden, but perhaps equally important is ensuring that the feelings it gives you, continue to resonate long after you leave.
Biography:
I was lucky enough to grow up in leafy surroundings, with somewhat creative parents who encouraged lots of time outdoors and helped me develop my own eye for detail and balance. After completing a degree in psychology, I worked in research and management consultancy, before re-evaluating my career in 2020 and deciding to follow a direction more aligned with my values.
Garden design is now the primary way I tap into my own creativity, connect with something bigger than myself and play with fine detail. I absolutely adore it and see it as the perfect intersection of my skills. More than that, I consider it a huge privilege to be able to create spaces that can support both the planet and people. What could be more satisfying!
I graduated from LCGD with Distinction in July 2023.
Instagram – @marinarandall_gardendesign
I saw my final project at college as a unique opportunity to showcase the important role that landscape designers can (and should) play in improving design for care environments.
Taking input from experts in the field and collaborating closely with BUPA UK, I transformed a 10 acre country estate into a new and progressive model for a dementia village.
Inspired by the movement of tides, the garden naturally draws you towards its safe centre, and radiates out via a number of layers. Sinuous, banked paths enable effortless flow around the space before reliably anchoring you back to a place of security.
This early project was an exploration of a clean, pared-back aesthetic for an architect and interior designer with a modest-sized suburban garden.
Inspired by the site’s location at the neck of a valley, this steeply sloped garden was reconfigured into a series of shallow, strata-like layers with elements coursing from top to bottom, side to side, encouraging your gaze to meander and settle. Loose meadow planting was anchored in clean geometry and raw-edged chalky limestone used to express the material of the land.
The garden of a Grade II listed Georgian rectory for a family looking for more defined social space but also places to pursue their individual interests.
The design inspiration centred around the idea of the axis of family life and the natural magnetic pulls we all feel in desiring both periods of togetherness and separation
