About
We are a small multidisciplinary team of designers and horticulturalists, based in Somerset.
We‘re big believers that the success of a garden lies in its ability to tell a story - about the people the garden is for and the values they hold dear. And in today’s world, it goes without saying that gardens should contribute positively to the environment they’re in. We pride ourselves on reaching beyond the world of horticulture and landscape design, working closely with a broad network of collaborators and specialists. The goal is to create a garden that feels personal, works intuitively with our clients lives and most importantly, helps them feel connected to the natural world.
How we work
The studio is in an old printworks in Somerset but we welcome projects from London and further afield. We have no ‘house-style’ because every project is unique, born out of conversations with the client and the environment the garden will live in.
However there are some shared values and themes we return to:
- Where possible we try and embrace local (better still, pre-exisiting) materials, and find innovative ways to work with them, rather than shipping in resource heavy alternatives from around the world.
- We try not to over design. Simple is often better.
- There’s no compromise between having a beautiful garden and one that is a feast for pollinators and wildlife. All gardens can do both.
- We will almost always recommend planting a tree (or few).
- We value working with experts in other fields - collaborating with ecologists, artists, furniture makers is always welcome, and often what brings the magic.
- As well as beautiful, gardens need to be practical too. How you live is a fundamental part of the brief (although we’re unable to make promises on a totally maintenance-free garden).
- We like a bit of mess. Gardens are living things, and like us they are not supposed to be immaculate and picture-perfect every day.
- When we start on a project, we hope we will still be involved with the garden many years after it is officially “finished” because gardens are a process and the best gardens emerge and evolve over time.
About Lottie
Lottie started working life in textile design and spent six years living and working in South-East Asia working in fashion and homewares. On returning to the UK, Lottie retrained in Garden Design at the Inchbald School of Design, graduating with Distinction. Since then she has been working on gardens around the UK, from small urban spaces to historic estates and commercial developments. Lottie is passionate about connecting people to the natural world and the underrated story-telling power of gardens.
In May 2022, Lottie completed her first show garden at RHS Chelsea, A Textile Garden for Fashion Revolution. She has been featured widely in the press, talks and chairs panels on gardens and design, and regularly writes for House & Garden.
Lottie is a big advocate for the power of gardens to enrich our lives, and is a trustee of We Are Grow a charity working with schools & communities delivering programmes in sustainable food growing & outdoor learning.
Collaborators
A few of the brilliant people we have worked with on recent projects.
Follow @lottie_delamain
