These Are The Landscaping Projects Debbie Roberts Is Most Proud Of After Three Decades

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Co-founder of Acres Wild with Ian Smith, Debbie Roberts has been shaping exquisite landscapes since 1988.

A Fellow of the Society of Garden Designers, Debbie’s approach is deeply client-focused, integrating homes into gardens and gardens into their surroundings with a sensitive touch.

With a career that spans diverse landscapes across the UK and internationally, Debbie’s work is celebrated for its fluid, unpretentious spaces and subtle, yet strong structural geometry.

In this interview, we explore the story behind Debbie Roberts’ journey as well as the origins of her collaboration with Acres Wild Co-founder Ian Smith.

Please note that the imagery used in this article has been provided with permission by Debbie Roberts.

Can you share a bit about your journey into the world of garden design?

“I met Ian at Leeds Polytechnic (now known as Leeds Beckett) in the late 1980s whilst studying for degrees in Landscape Architecture,” shares Debbie.

“Rather than working as Landscape Architects after we graduated, we decided to set up our own garden design practice, focussing on natural, country and wildlife gardens.”

Can you describe the journey of Acres Wild since its establishment in 1988?

“It took a while to establish the business, as Garden Design wasn’t particularly recognised as something that people would want back then, but it slowly gained in popularity,” she explains. 

“By 1991, we were beginning to get into our stride and were even featured on the pioneer BBC TV series Gardens by Design, but were hit by a three-year long recession, so we branched out and started teaching at various colleges, including the Inchbald School of Design, as a way of supplementing our income.

“By 1995 we were back on course again, [and] reduced our teaching commitments, so by 2000, we were beginning to specialise in the larger country garden projects to which we had always aspired, and for which are now known.

“Having contributed to various garden and design book projects around that time, we were asked to write a book about garden ponds, where we were able to showcase some of our own designs and photographs.

“More magazine articles followed as well as the website, which we established early on with Ian’s garden photography. These attracted plenty of new customers, including a number of projects in the Channel Islands and a couple of incredible clients in the Californian hills south of San Francisco, where we spent a number of months during 2006-2008.

“However, it’s the country gardens, more local to us in Sussex, Surrey and Kent that we enjoy making the most and the ones that have gained us most attention.”

How Has your individual background and experience influenced the direction and ethos of Acres Wild?

“We both independently studied and enjoyed Art, Geography and Technical Drawing at school, which, looking back, were the perfect subjects for our future careers.

“We were also both passionate about nature and conservation, which led to us working together on similar projects during our degrees at Leeds Polytechnic and hence our later decision to work together as a design team.”

Can you share a project that you’re particularly proud of?

“Nursted Barns is special because it was a very modern large country garden at the time and was one of the first to gain any sort of recognition,” says Debbie.

“Millwater, Hyde House, Norneywood and Blue Doors are all special in various ways, and where we were able to work on much larger canvases of over 10 acres or, in the case of Blue Doors, within an exceptional landscape.

“All won industry awards, with Millwater also gaining Best Garden at the 2014 Society of Garden Designers Awards. However, we think the garden at Brightling Down must be our all-time favourite, and one that we return to year after year. 

“Now 20 years old, it was featured in the most recent series finale of Gardeners’ World with Ian and Joe Swift working their way up through the water garden and culminating on the deck overlooking the Japanese pond.”

How do you both collaborate on projects? Is there a specific process you follow?

“We both attend initial client meetings and site analysis visits, and then one of us would take on the role of lead designer,” she states.

“The process is always survey, analysis, design, where form follows function. This means that you’re never working on a blank canvas – every site has potentials and constraints which are noted and assessed, and all clients are different, so when working through the process, you arrive at the most appropriate design for each particular project.

“We never impose our ideas onto a client or a site, but rather aim to meld our client’s tastes and requirements into a design which evolves up from the site.”

What are some challenges you’ve faced in your work, and how have you overcome them?

“Working alongside other professionals like Architects can sometimes be challenging, especially when a new house design hasn’t taken due consideration of site levels, access and existing features, and when you are also working to other professional’s deadlines. 

“Also, working with general builders to install gardens can mean that some of the finer detailing is not as we would like, and soil health and plantings are not regarded, so we always try to work only on projects where specialist landscape contractors are engaged to build and plant the garden.”

As you reflect on the journey of Acres Wild since 1988, what are you most proud of?

“Being able to make a living out of what was a virtually unknown area of design for a whole lifetime career,” Debbie shares.

Looking ahead, what’s next for you and Acres Wild?

“We’re slowly reducing the time spent on creating new gardens to focus more on evolving the gardens we’ve already created, and spending more time in our own garden, which we created during the pandemic,” she explains. 

“We’d also like to spend more time visiting gardens, writing about and photographing gardens, especially those in Japan where we spent the autumn of 2011 – it’s been a long overdue return trip!”