Landscape Designer Jilayne Rickards: ‘We Have To View Gardens Slightly Differently Now’

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Jilayne Rickards is a highly respected Garden & Landscape Designer based in Cornwall who has designed various gardens across the UK, often teaming up with charities and organisations.

For instance, her 2019 garden at the Chelsea Flower Show was prepared in partnership with CAMFED and won Gold as well as Best In Show.

Jilayne was kind enough to chat with me about that very garden, her commitment to sustainable practices and her plans for a future project near her hometown.

Please note that all imagery in this article has been provided with permission by Jilayne Rickards.

Can You Tell Us About Your Journey Into Garden Design And What Inspired You To Pursue This Career?

“I grew up in Cornwall, which is the most amazing place, so I was always inspired by that landscape,” Jilayne says.

“Despite that, there wasn’t much work there at the time, so I moved away like a lot of people to find work in London. I’d always wanted to study something artistic but I’d never really managed it because there was no money in it.

“Once I had gotten married and had 3 children, I knew I wanted to do something creative and I was lucky enough to have a change in career and retrain. I thought I would try garden design and just see how it goes and it fitted me really well.

“I’ve always been able to visualise things really well and I think I’ve got an innate sense of what looks good together. The rest is just logic and I’m quite a logical person, so that’s how I ended up in this career.”

Your Garden For CAMFED Won Gold At The RHS Chelsea Flower Show And The People’s Choice Award In 2019. Can You Walk Us Through The Design Process For This Award-Winning Garden?

“CAMFED is the Campaign for Female Education, which is a charity that aims to support vulnerable girls through school. It tackles gender inequality and poverty at the same time and helps girls get a job and support their future.

“This charity was a great match for me as I completely believe in the work that they do. What I wanted to do with the garden was reflect the positivity of the work they do, so I visited their flagship organisation in Zimbabwe to understand how they worked and to understand the plants too.

“In the UK, when we think of gardens we think of a nice place to sit, somewhere to relax – but in Africa they think of food and nurturing nature. I wanted to combine the food growing and the education element into one garden as I felt that encapsulated what I saw in Zimbabwe.

“I raised the back of the garden by 2.5m and placed the classroom situation there and the planting used plants from Zimbabwe that people would typically grow in their own back gardens.

“The best thing was getting the people’s choice award because it meant that people were having that conversation about CAMFED and that they were talking about the work.”

What Does A Typical Working Day Look Like For You?

“It’s an awful lot of admin if you can believe it!” Jilayne laughs.

“People often think that designing is so exciting and glamorous, and yes, some of it is this, but the majority of it is not.

“I’m often out on site. I’ll either be looking at the garden or in communication with the client. I spend a lot of time with my clients either by phone, zoom or face-to-face if I’m nearby.

“I like to run the budget alongside the design so I’m sure of what I’m doing when it comes to the design side of things. That involves a lot of software, drawings on the computers and spreadsheets.

“Then there are presentations and designs for the clients too which I find quite exciting because that is when the client gets to see it come to life and find out what they are paying me for!

“The exciting part is when the plants turn up on site. I also like to oversee the project as well, so I’ll be checking that the landscapers are doing what I want and be there for any problems that do arise.”

In The Past You Opened Your Garden Under The National Gardens Scheme. Can You Share Your Experience And The Feedback You Received?

“I’ve done that three times now,” she says.

“The first garden I opened up was when I lived in London, which was a small back garden where people had to come through my house to get to it! It was a great experience even though it was tiring.

“It was so busy and such good fun that when we moved to a larger property, 6 months after I planted the garden, I opened it. I then opened it again 3 years later, just to show what can happen in a garden over that time.

“It’s great because you’re raising money for a charity, the feedback that you get from people is really nice and you can give people some inspiration for their own garden.

“It’s really fun, but it is a huge amount of work, especially if you’re a designer and you feel like everyone is going around looking at all the details with a magnifying glass!”

How Do You Ensure That Your Garden Designs Are Both Beautiful And Environmentally Friendly?

In my garden at Chelsea this year with Fauna & Flora, a global conservation charity, it was all about sustainability,” she explains.

“The garden was all about how a garden could still look nice and be environmentally friendly. We have to view gardens slightly differently and we have to think about what is beautiful in a slightly different way.

“Increasingly, sustainability is something that everybody is just doing as a general practice now. We start by thinking about what the client wants and what the most sustainable way to do it is. We have to change, and I’m trying to do so.

“Gone are the days of huge amounts of imported concrete slabs for me. I always tell my clients that they won’t work with me if they can’t get on board with my sustainability practices. Often, clients don’t know how to implement these changes and just need some guidance.

“These days, planting is difficult because climate change is here, so we also have to think about how we can plant things to suit the extremes of the weather.”

What Is The Best Thing About Your Job?

“The biggest pleasure I get is going back to see the garden a couple of years on, as it gives me satisfaction to see that all of the hard work paid off.

“The process is always so long and, of course, plants take time to grow, so seeing updates is so rewarding. I love seeing the client happy too.”

Do You Have Any Upcoming Projects Or Future Plans That You Can Share With Us?

“There’s a project down in the south of Cornwall based on improving the area around some holiday cottages,” says Jilayne.

“I’ll be picking that up soon which will be interesting, as they are right down on the coast too, so will need some wind barriers put in!”