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EMMA ATKINSON
With a wealth of experience in planning and urban design , Meopham-based landscape architect and garden designer , Emma Atkinson , has a passion for garden design , biodiversity and all things plants . 2023 ’ s Professional Award winner at the Belvoir Castle Flower & Garden Show , she offers an online garden consultancy service , so you can plan , plant and grow your own green oasis at an affordable price , and was recently asked to create a Beautiful Border at the BBC Gardeners ’ World Autumn Fair .
You ’ ve just created a Beautiful Border for the BBC Gardeners ’ World Autumn Fair - how did that opportunity come about , what was your brief and how did you incorporate the ‘ Share My Space ’ theme ? I completed my first show garden last year at Belvoir Castle & Flower Show and even though it was tiny , I developed the show gardening bug , so I knew in 2024 I wanted to do another one ! The brief primarily focused on developing a shared space for all to enjoy and given that fact I became a mum myself just eight months ago , I wanted to develop a space for postpartum women navigating the first few months of motherhood . The project , which I ’ ve named Finding your Pink , symbolises how mother flamingos turn white after childbirth as a result of giving everything to their baby before returning to pink ; the garden aims to reassure women that they too will find their pink again .
The Beautiful Borders are miniature show gardens ; is this the most compact project you ’ ve designed and worked on ? No , I designed an even smaller show garden last year at Belvoir Castle Flower & Garden Show which was 2.5m x 2.5m in size . This came with its challenges as there was no room for error in such a small space , however I think the lessons learned last year have helped in the preparations for my border at the BBC Gardeners ’ World Autumn Fair .
Do you generally work on projects of varying sizes ? What ’ s the biggest space you ’ ve ever been tasked with transforming ? Yes , I work on projects that very much vary in size and scale , from private gardens to new public realms and open spaces for communities . As well as my work as a garden designer , I also practise as a landscape architect and am working to develop a new Garden City in Ebbsfleet , Kent . Here , I ’ m working on much larger scale projects , transforming an area that was once a chalk quarry into a new sustainable neighbourhood that will reflect the garden city principles . One project I have recently been involved with is designing a new urban park that will include multiple new playgrounds , cycle tracks , a multi-use games area , community garden and allotments .
Did you always want to be a landscape architect and garden designer ? If so , why ? I have always loved gardening and design , and it wasn ’ t until I left school that I realised I could combine both of these passions into a career in landscape architecture . Growing up , my parents would spend their weekends in the garden so from an early age I would be outside helping and loved watching how the garden would evolve from season to season . www . insidekent . co . uk • 135