Rickards, Jilayne (MBALI)

About Rickards, Jilayne (MBALI)

Multi award winning, independent, professional garden designer previously based in London and now based in Cornwall. Creating unique, personal, charismatic and beautiful gardens with sustainable practice being at the heart of all design decisions. Registered Member of the Society of Garden Designers, Chelsea Gold Medal Winner and People's Choice Award Winner 2019, multi National BALI Award Winner, Pro-Landscaper Sustainability Award for Commercial Design 2023.

Areas covered

National (Eng/Wales/Scot/NI), International, South West

Types of work undertaken

  • Soft Landscaping (unlimited)
  • Design Facility (unlimited)
  • Domestic (unlimited)
  • Disabled/Historic Gardens (unlimited)

Projects

Chelsea Flower Show 2023 - The Fauna & Flora Garden

Completed: 28/07/2023
Location: Chelsea Flower Show / Eden Project Cornwall
Budget: £365,000.00

This show garden showcased Fauna & Flora's fabulous Mountain Gorilla conservation project in Central Africa by depicting an eco-tourist's typical trail to see the gorillas in their natural habitat.  Leading the way in sustainable design & construction, this garden was an inspiration to fellow designers with ideas that were relevant to the general public too.

Now installed at The Eden Project (who also grew the majority of unusual plants), this brave garden continues it's message to their 1 million annual visitors.

 

The Secret Garden

Completed: 20/03/2021
Location: Mill Hill London
Budget: £60,000.00

The Secret Garden

Designed to be a private and secluded garden with an air of secrecy, this garden in Mill Hill London has brought my client much happiness and solace especially during Covid restrictions.  With clergy clay soil and honey fungus to boot, this was a tricky garden for plant selection.  The meandering curves create secluded areas and the planting is now established and thriving, with seasonal interest throughout the year to support as much bio-diversity as possible.

The Urban Retreat

Completed: 12/11/2019
Location: London NW5
Budget: £40,000.00

Winner for 4 National BALI Awards 2020, this garden was all about reducing our carbon footprint by reusing materials, using recycled materials, keeping water on site, recycling garden waste and increasing biodiversity within the garden - whilst creating a unique, beautiful and restful oasis to relax in.

Chelsea Flower Show 2019 - The CAMFED Garden

Completed: 19/05/2019
Location: Chelsea Flower Show
Budget: £150,000.00

The CAMFED garden was a bold and truthful representation of rural Zimbabwe with strong messaging of female empowerment to vulnerable school girls.  I wanted to do something different at Chelsea and this was a brave scheme that paid off well, being awarded a Gold medal by the judges and People's Choice in the Space to Grow Category.

Urban Contemporary Garden

Completed: 18/04/2018
Location: London
Budget: £180,000.00

High end, chic, contemporary front and back gardens to allow for entertaining space for parties and family whilst also being an intimate garden.  Level changes, water feature, bespoke corten steel art and a strong year round planting scheme earned this garden a BALI Award 2018.

Shady Town Garden

Completed: 18/04/2018
Location: North London
Budget: £20,000.00

I was appointed as a consultant to address the planting scheme for this existing layout and worked closely with the client to achieve her ambitions.  She wanted a relaxed feel to the garden and I designed a scheme of purple, whites, blues and greens to reflect this.  Gardening on clay soil in the shade is often challenging but with some thought it can have spectacular results too - shade planting is without doubt the most relaxing of planting schemes.

Courtyard Kitchen Garden

Completed: 18/04/2017
Location: Bedfordshire
Budget: £50,000.00

The client asked for an attractive courtyard garden with ornamentals and edibles as part of their larger garden.  The strong layout provides a sound backdrop to the planting with the use of natural and locally sourced materials to complete the look.

Contemporary Back Garden

Completed: 18/04/2017
Location: North London
Budget: £20,000.00

I was appointed to re-design the planting scheme for this existing contemporary design.  The planting had failed and I installed a new scheme to better reflect the strong lines of the hard landscaping.  The client wanted a slight Japanese twist to the planting with year round interest. Lots of structure was used to give a low maintenance appeal with a little bit of long lasting herbaceous for a splash of seasonal colour here and there.

Wildlife Garden

Completed: 18/02/2017
Location: Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire
Budget: £75,000.00

Wildlife friendly is the theme of this garden as it was the top priority of the client to support a wide a range of wildlife as possible.  A dense native hedge was included to shelter the site from the searing wind and to provide privacy and a nesting/feeding site for birds.  Nectar rich plants were selected to provide food for bees and a natural pond was included for frogs, newts and other pond life.