Freddie Strickland stands outin the world of garden and landscape painting design asa young go - getter with an ethos grounded in creativity , sustainability and originality .
grant the RHS Young Designer of the Year in 2021 , this London - aborigine turned Cornish coast creative person and decorator tat his beloved for the outdoors with a inscrutable commitment to environmental consciousness in his intent .
Now based in Bristol and working as Lead Designer on project nationally and internationally at Balston Agius , Freddie persist in to craft award - winning blueprint , bring in him recognition as one of the diligence ’s brightest rising stars .
What Are Your Earliest Memories Of Gardening?
“ My earliest memories of horticulture are help my grandmother in her house in London , ” shares Freddie .
“ She discovered garden in her fifties – so when I was a toddler , I helped her and in return I earnt some pocket money doing some flat chore liketidying Hedera helix off the wallsand cleaning up leafage litter .
“ It was a fun and adventuresome start to gardening and I learnt then that gardening is a great way to pass time with people you love . From a young years I knew that horticulture and people are very interconnected .
“ Since my grandmother died , my female parent has take over the reins and I now garden with her . ”
How Did This Then Lead To A Career In Garden Design?
“ One of my biggest thwarting in life is that a career in horticulture was n’t evident to me from a new age ; I only divulge it in my early 20s .
“ The first time I became mindful of garden design was when I had the chance to have my own garden in my other 20 . I felt a small second like the dots all connect and I realize you could be originative in a garden – it was just a unlike character of canvas .
“ It was a bit of a whirlwind from that point onwards and still is ! Nothing else in my sprightliness has ever been more clear to me when I figured out that this was what I want to do , so I went to the Eden Project in Cornwall to study Garden and Landscape Design . ”
How Did Your Background In Fine Art Contribute To Your Career In Garden And Landscape Design?
“ It ’s been very helpful , ” he sound out .
“ The course pack me away from the idea of thinking exclusively about paint on paper and it encouraged me to think imaginatively about landscapes , and see garden purpose as an art build .
“ You see artists who habituate commonwealth as their canvass , so it was very obvious that a career in garden innovation was an extension of this and the creative factor that I was missing in my living . ”
How Do You Approach A New Project?
“ It really is people - base , ” Freddie explains .
“ I love to match client and get to the bottom of why they want to transfer their garden . There will be a detail where I leave and it ’s down to the clients to bask their space , so it ’s important for me to get to understand them and what they want from their garden , no matter how full-grown or minor .
“ I consider that home is a bema and that the garden is an important extension of the home . It ’s also a great way to connect people to nature , so I bug out project by really get to know the citizenry that will engage it so that the unexampled design can sincerely conform to their pauperization . ”
How Did Winning The RHS Young Designer Of The Year 2021 Impact Your Career?
“ Enormously . I now work for Balston Agius , having work on a wide diversity of exciting personal undertaking ( all of which are pictured ) before joining the squad here . win the competition gave me great opportunities and give clients more reassurance that they were employing someone who had been recognised at some kind of stage .
“ It was also a really great opportunity because I meet some wonderful citizenry in the diligence , impart me connexion to a world that before I was more or less on the outside of . ”
Looking Back At Your Career So Far, Is There A Particular Project That You Are Most Proud Of?
“ The obvious one was winning the RHS Young Designer of the Year honor , ” he continue .
“ One garden that is developing well in only its first class is a personal project of mine in Dorset . work with vivid clients , we developed a 450 m² planting area and innovate secure colour combinations over dissimilar seasons .
“ It was a freeing moment for me as a interior decorator as I had the chance to really go for it ! I ’m really happy with how that garden is turning out . ”
How Do You See The Future Of Garden And Landscape Design Evolving?
“ Our gardens are already possess to adapt , and some plant are prove more resilient to these change than others . We are seeing a softer approach to garden innovation ; making more place for green , and less space for Charles Grey !
“ New garden need to expand in these problematic conditions , but with this challenge comes opportunity . ”
What’s Next For You?
“ It ’s head - down metre more than anything , ” Freddie pronounce .
“ It ’s about getting peachy projects under my belt and seek to make a difference , create worthwhile gardens that are new and exciting .
“ It ’s all about working with citizenry , connections to nature and fire up joy from horticulture . I really desire to look back on the gardens I ’ve done and find proud of them and the purpose they have serve well to both people and wildlife . ”
