Tom Stuart-Smith

Tom Stuart-Smith
OBE
Born
Thomas Richard Stephen Peregrine Stuart-Smith

(1960-02-14) 14 February 1960 (age 64)
St Albans, Hertfordshire, England
EducationRadley College; Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (MA); Manchester University (MLA)
OccupationLandscape architect/garden designer
RelativesSir Murray Stuart-Smith (father)
Sir Jeremy Stuart-Smith (brother)

Thomas Richard Stephen Peregrine Stuart-Smith OBE (born 14 February 1960)[1] is an English landscape architect, garden designer and writer. He specialises in making gardens that combine naturalism and modernity.[2]

Early life and education

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The son of Appeal Court judge Sir Murray Stuart-Smith, he was brought up in Hertfordshire on the Serge Hill estate in Bedmond. Four generations of his family have lived at Serge Hill since his grandfather bought the estate in 1927.[3] After earning a degree in Zoology at the University of Cambridge he went on to study at Manchester University in 1982 to develop his research interests in landscape architecture and design.[4] In 1986 Tom renovated a dilapidated barn and its surrounding fields into his new home, creating The Barn Garden at Serge Hill.[5][6] In the summer of 2013, the first Festival of Garden Literature in the UK was held at The Barn Garden.[7]

Career

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After working with Hal Moggridge and Elizabeth Banks, Stuart-Smith established his own landscape design business in 1998.[4] Since 1984, he has designed a number of large private and public gardens in the English countryside as well as smaller inner city gardens, as well as overseas projects throughout Europe, India, the US and the Caribbean.[8] His most notable work includes Broughton Grange (commissioned by Stephen Hester)[9] in Oxfordshire, Mount St John in Yorkshire,[10] Fort Belvedere[11] in Windsor Great Park, and a new garden at Windsor Castle which was commissioned by the Royal Household to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee.[12] Stuart-Smith was also involved with landscape designer Piet Oudolf in creating a landscape masterplan at Trentham Gardens and the recasting of its Italian garden.[13] More recent work includes the two-hectare garden around the Bicentenary Glasshouse at Wisley[14] for the Royal Horticultural Society, which was opened to the public by the Queen in June 2007.[15] In 2013 Tom worked with Factum Arte to create a unique brass sculpture of an Ilex crenata tree for The Garden of Illusion at The Connaught hotel in London.[16] He was also commissioned to create the Keeper's House Garden at the Royal Academy of Arts.[17] Stuart-Smith has designed eight Gold Medal-winning gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show, with three being awarded best in show.[18] An exhibition on his work, the first about a living garden designer in the UK, was held at the Garden Museum in London in 2011.[19] He has also lectured in the UK[20] and the USA.[21] Stuart-Smith is a member of the Society of Garden Designers[22] and the Landscape Institute.[23]

More recently Tom Stuart-Smith has created the overall plan for the RHS Garden Bridgewater in Worsley in Salford, Greater Manchester, and a garden surrounding The Hepworth Wakefield in West Yorkshire, dedicated to the works of sculptor Barbara Hepworth.

He was listed in House & Garden in 2021 as one of the top 50 garden designers in the UK.[24]

Stuart-Smith was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to landscape design.[25]

Writing

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Stuart-Smith has written articles for the Financial Times, Guardian and Telegraph on the subject of gardening and landscape design.[26][27][28]

In 2011 he co-wrote and published a book titled The Barn Garden.[29]

References

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  1. ^ STUART-SMITH, Thomas Richard Stephen Peregrine, Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014
  2. ^ "Meet the Designers at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2010", BBC, London, 2010
  3. ^ Stuart-Smith, Tom & Sue. The Barn Garden : Making a Place, Serge Hill Books, Abbots Langley, 2011, p.9
  4. ^ a b Young, Chris. "Designer Profile: Ancient and Modern", Garden Design Journal, London, August 2002.
  5. ^ Compton, Tania. "Sibling Harmony", House & Garden, London, May/June 2014.
  6. ^ Stuart-Smith, Tom & Sue. The Barn Garden : Making a Place, Serge Hill Books, Abbots Langley, 2011
  7. ^ Cummings, Ed. "Ideas Take Root at First Gardening and Books Festival", The Telegraph, London, 31 May 2013.
  8. ^ "Tom Stuart-Smith Takes the English Garden Global". wsj.com. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  9. ^ Hickman, Leo. "Inside Stephen Hesters Glorious Country Estate", The Guardian, UK, 30 January 2012
  10. ^ Richardson, Tim. "The New English Garden", Frances Lincoln Publishers, UK, 2013 pp.25–35
  11. ^ Robinson, Barbara Paul. "Rosemary Verey: The Life & Lessons of a Legendary Gardener", David R. Godine, Publisher, UK, 2012 p.86
  12. ^ Compton, Tania."Jubilee Salute", House & Garden, January 2002[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ Richardson, Tim. "The New English Garden", Frances Lincoln Publishers, UK, 2013 pp.170–181
  14. ^ "In a Glass of its Own", The Telegraph, London, 29 June 2007
  15. ^ "Queen Opens £7.7m RHS Glasshouse", BBC News, London, 26 June 2007
  16. ^ Racovolis, Kate. "The Constant Gardener", Cheshire Magazine, London, 2013.
  17. ^ Cummings, Ed. "Tom Stuart-Smith Designs ‘Prehistoric’ Garden for Royal Academy", The Telegraph, London, 26 September 2013.
  18. ^ "The Gardens of Tom Stuart-Smith – in pictures", The Guardian, London, 19 August 2011.
  19. ^ Richardson, Tim. "Tom Stuart-Smith: See the Exhibition, Read the Book, Visit the Garden", The Telegraph, London, 23 May 2011
  20. ^ "The galleries come to life: Yoga, opera and more // Sensing Spaces: Curator's Blog". Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014. "Tom Stuart-Smith: Soapbox Talk at the Royal Academy of Arts", Royal Academy of Arts, London, February 2014
  21. ^ Uyterhoeven, Susan. "Tom Stuart-Smith: Finding a Language for the Modern Garden", The New York Botanical Garden, London, 26 September 2013
  22. ^ [1] "Society of Garden Designers Membership List", Society of Garden Designers, UK
  23. ^ [2] "Landscape Institute Membership List", Landscape Institute, UK
  24. ^ "House & Garden's Top 50 Garden Designers". House & Garden. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  25. ^ "No. 64082". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2023. p. B15.
  26. ^ Stuart-Smith, Tom. "Chelsea Flower Show: conceptual gardens require good plot", The Financial Times, London, 17 May 2013.
  27. ^ Stuart-Smith, Tom. "Gardens: Go Wild in the City", The Guardian, London, 19 August 2013.
  28. ^ Stuart-Smith, Tom. "Ideas Take Root at First Gardening and Books Festival", The Telegraph, London, 31 May 2013.
  29. ^ Stuart-Smith, Tom & Sue. "The Barn Garden : Making a Place", Serge Hill Books, Abbots Langley, 2011.
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