What we do

We are a friendly and professional garden and landscape design business.

We have a flair for creating gardens and landscapes matched to our clients’ wishes, from elegant and understated to bold and bright, to wildlife-friendly gardens. We are committed to providing clients with a truly bespoke approach, recognising that every client is different as is every garden.  

We believe that an eye for detail is essential and that it is important to strike a balance between using innovative materials and cohesive, sustainable planting. Our garden designs incorporate a considered blend of colour, texture, form and scent.  

We also run bespoke industry-related courses, workshops and events featuring special guest speakers throughout the UK. 

Our modest studio is based in Rutland and our main areas of work are East Anglia, the East Midlands and London.  We would be happy to travel further afield as required for any project of interest, so please do get in touch if you would like us to work with you. 

Profile - Gillian Goodson

Gillian is the Principal Garden Designer and Owner of Gillian Goodson Designs and has created and worked on multiple award-winning gardens.  She is serious about her work and business but has a fun-loving nature, and is known for having an informal relationship with her clients. She is client-led drawing inspiration from their life and lifestyles and balancing this with their garden.

She grew up in the hot tropics of East Coast Queensland, Australia with its diverse landscapes from the Great Barrier Reef to gorges, rainforests and waterfalls.  It has given her an innate appreciation of the beauty of plants and the importance of the diverse natural environment.  She has come to appreciate the importance of working with nature rather than against it.    

Following a career as a qualified paralegal, she realised that being indoors on a long-term basis was not for her. Her love of being outdoors kept calling her. She turned to her childhood love of being in the garden and growing plants from seed. She studied horticulture at Brooksby Melton College in Leicestershire and found a deep reconnection. She retrained as a garden designer, and graduated with Distinction in Garden Design from the world-renowned English Gardening School based at Chelsea Physic Garden, London.  She was awarded the two top Prizes in her graduation year:  Top Garden Design Student, and Top Plant Portfolio, and one of Gillian's student design projects was chosen to be built by a London-based client.  She subsequently undertook the Planting Design Diploma at London College of Garden Design based at Kew Gardens, London while running the business.

Gillian also leads our industry related courses and events, and styles and designs interiors for those clients who need a helping hand and inspiration seamlessly connecting their homes with their gardens.