APLD Members ~ Member of the Month
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Robin Williams, FAPLD
Featured Member, APLD Website,
March 2007
A photo montage of Robin Williams work…
| A parterre
between an ancient house to a new conservatory. It acted
too as a ‘cross-roads’ linking
house, conservatory and other areas of a large garden. |
| A small intimate sub-garden created at the rear of the house, where the client may enjoy favourite plants as ‘individuals’ rather than part of a larger landscape structure. Client - Mrs Sally Cole, Basalt, CO |
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The ‘Gardener’s Hut’ with the well head adjacent. The centre piece of a show garden inspired by the town of Stratford-Upon-Avon, created in the pacific Flora 2004 Exhibition in Shizuoka, Japan. Client – The (English) West Midlands Regional Development Assembly. |
A simple composition with a flat bridge, traveling over a stream and towards a grass path, curving then intriguingly out of sight, between luxurious planting. Client – Mr & Mrs Locking, Kingston-Upon-Hull, Yorkshire, England |
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The main axis of a Box Parterre with topiary ‘Sentinels’ traveling away from one of the rear doors of the clients house, towards an informal area of garden at furthest distance. Client – Mr & Mrs Locking, Kingston-Upon-Hull, Yorkshire, England |
A small section of my own garden, several years ago, with luxuriant planting surrounding a pond, wherein lived a wide range of wildlife. There was never a dull moment! The planting served also to volt out my neighbors and to complete the illusion of infinity. Rowan House, Newbury, Berkshire |
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| The combination of a moongate and waterfall was the main focus of a garden designed for Chelsea Flower Show some years ago, entitled Roses and Remembrance. I was awarded a gold medal. The colour theme was blue, creamy yellow and white. It was particularly memorable since I had the privilege then of, among others, meeting Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the then Prime Minister Mrs Margaret Thatcher, Now Lady Thatcher. Client – Help the Aged, Charity |
I redesigned a formal pool within the ‘Italian’ garden at Borde Hill, a private stately home lying in the folds of the Sussex Downs, which is open to the public. Reflection is the main purpose of the pool. Client – Mr & Mrs Stephenson-Clarke, Borde Hill Garden, Sussex England |
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Borde Hill general view of the ‘New English’ Rose Garden looking back to Borde Hill House. From here the ground pattern may not be seen – visitors had to enter it to appreciate it, which fortunately they did. Client – Mr & Mrs Stephenson-Clarke, Borde Hill Garden, Sussex England |
Borde Hill general view of the ‘New English’ Rose Garden looking back to Borde Hill House from here the ground pattern may not be seen – visitors had to enter it to appreciate it, which fortunately they did. Client – Mr & Mrs Stephenson-Clarke, Borde Hill Garden, Sussex England |
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Robin
Williams’s long and illustrious career in garden and landscape
design began in 1960 when he set up a design and contracting
company. He then became a director of Fonthill Nursery and chief
designer at Jackman’s Nursery at Woking in Surrey.
His teaching career took off in the early 1980’s when he co-founded the College of Garden Design – an establishment which nurtured and developed the talents of some of the UK’s top garden designers. Since then he has undertaken lecture tours across the US and Japan and speaks regularly to audiences of staff and members at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Wisley.
Robin has written, co-written, edited and/or illustrated a dozen best-selling books on different aspects of gardening and garden design (click on Publications, left, for details of titles currently available). The most successful, The Garden Planner, published in 1990, is probably the most authoritative and widely used reference source of its type and has been reprinted six times! Robin also wrote regularly for ‘Popular Gardening’ magazine throughout the 1970’s and 80’s and was a contributor to several BBC television gardening programmes, including ‘Gardeners’ World’ and ‘Good Morning’.
Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s Robin consistently won recognition for his gardens at the RHS’s Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows. Among the eleven medals he received at Chelsea were two Golds, for Help the Aged gardens. Since 1998 he has created several more stunning ‘show gardens’, notably at major exhibitions and festivals in Japan.
Robin is unquestionably one of the most respected figures on the international landscape and garden design scene. He was the first person ever to be made a Fellow of the APLD (in 2002). He is also a Founder Member, Fellow and former Chairman of the SGD and Fellow of the Institute of Horticulture. He was a show garden judge at the Chelsea Flower Show for 16 years and a member of the RHS’s council for five years. In 2003, the RHS also awarded him the Veitch Memorial Medal in recognition of ‘services given in the advancement of the science and practice of horticulture’.
Certified Members seeking to be profiled should send before and after photos with SHORT design intent statement to:
Bethany Dennis
APLD Communications Manager
Email: communications@apld.org
Phone: 717-238-9780
* PHOTOS SHOULD BE CLEAR COLOR PRINTS OR JPEG COMPRESSED FILES