Jo Thompson Landscape & Garden Design

Jo heads to The Pavilion in Ballygarvan

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 08:35:45 +0000

Jo will be at The Pavilion garden centre in Ballygarvan, Cork on the 26 September for a talk on How to Create a Garden with Atmosphere.

Drawing on some of her most captivating projects, Jo will share how she approaches a landscape – considering proportion, setting and structure alongside the richly layered, romantic planting for which her work is so well known.

Jo will reveal how gardens can be shaped to feel both beautiful and deeply connected to their surroundings. Her talk also draws on her latest book, The New Romantic Garden, which presents thirty exceptional gardens and considers how the enduring principles of garden design can be reinterpreted for a more naturalistic and ecologically conscious age.

Event details 11am–1pm on Saturday 26 September.

Visit The Pavilion to find out more.

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Family Garden, Sevenoaks

admin — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:43:11 +0000

Family Garden, Sevenoaks

This family garden, consisting of grass and a boundary of overgrown shrubs and mature trees, wrapped around the whole house. There were no defining features and no spaces with individual character; with two new houses about to be built by the boundary, privacy was also important.

The design was inspired by the details of the Arts and Crafts house: anything too contemporary or geometric would have fought with the architecture. It was critical to keep hard landscaping to a minimum and to celebrate instead what was already there with the gentlest of interventions, using planting where possible to define areas and give them character and to create a relaxed atmosphere for the garden.

The design intention was to make the place into places. A sweeping drive curves to slow the pace of arrival and screen the parking. Paving and deep herbaceous borders sit against the house, setting it within the planting, resolving the sharp level change. The lawn was kept but given a broad sweeping shape; everything beyond it became long grass and meadow, with mown paths winding through.

The magnificent mature cornus, the garden’s greatest asset, now sits in a wildflower meadow. The conifer boundary was supplemented with deciduous trees to create the sense of woodland, with a secluded children’s play area, and an outdoor kitchen built from materials found on site.

The resulting garden is a space that finally feels right in its location, with different garden areas merging in and out of view.

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Jo Thompson to head Garden Design Diploma at LCGD

admin — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 15:45:29 +0000

We are delighted to announce that Jo has been appointed Head of Garden Design Studies at the London College of Garden Design, alongside Duncan Cargill as Deputy Head. Taking up the role in September, Jo will continue her own design practice alongside the new role.

Jo has been a tutor at LCGD for nearly 20 years and is excited to be taking on this new chapter with the college. “It’s a huge honour to be asked to take on this role,” she said. “I’m looking forward to helping the next generation of garden designers go beyond the textbooks and dig deeper into what makes a truly successful outdoor space.”

Nina Baxter, Director of LCGD, said: “Jo has been a tutor and friend to the college since it began nearly 20 years ago. She is an outstanding designer with a deep commitment to education and professional development.”

The Garden Design Diploma is LCGD’s flagship professional training programme, combining design theory, practical skills, horticultural knowledge and real-world project experience.

Read more on the LCGD’s website and at Gardens Illustrated.

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Cotswold Garden

admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:50:28 +0000

Cotswold Garden

When redesigning the grounds of this Georgian house, set within a steeply sloping site, the aim was to design a family garden that complemented the period architecture whilst feeling relaxed and connected to the surrounding Cotswold landscape, with year-round interest and naturalistic planting.

The design is centred around a beautiful pond which reflects the house facade; a rill was created to channel a spring, flowing through the lawn and into the pond.

The main challenges were the gradient, which dropped away across several levels, and the need to balance formal areas near the house with a softer transition into the wider landscape. Engineered retaining walls in local stone create usable and accessible planting levels and provide structure to the garden. Planted flower beds move into wildflower meadow with mown grass paths further from the house.

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The Archers Garden opens at the first RHS Badminton Flower Show

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:08:17 +0000

As a passionate follower of The Archers, Jo Thompson was invited to design the programme’s 75th Anniversary Garden at the first ever RHS Badminton Flower Show, 8-12 July 2026. The garden imagines Bridge Farm, the heart of Ambridge, lovingly replanted after a devastating flood, with personal touches and easter eggs hidden throughout for fans to discover.
See The Archers Garden.

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House & Garden Top 25 Garden Designers 2026

admin — Fri, 01 May 2026 13:21:13 +0000

Jo has once again been named in House & Garden’s Top 25 Garden Designers for 2026, continuing her place among the UK’s most recognised names in garden design.

The list describes Jo as known for her rich, colourful planting and signature use of roses, creating gardens of atmosphere and romance, with current projects including several private gardens in the South of England and Provence, as well as the Archers Garden at the new RHS Badminton Flower Show in July.

To read the list visit here

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Jo Thompson at the Festival of Gardens and Nature, Ireland

admin — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 08:33:16 +0000

Jo will be appearing at the Festival of Gardens and Nature in Ireland this May, speaking across two events at Ballintubbert House – a beautiful Arts and Crafts garden in County Laois.

On the evening of 2 May, Jo joins Kali Hammerton Stove, founder of The Glasshouse charity, for a conversation hosted by Kitty Scully. Jo and Kali will talk about their extraordinary journey collaborating on the 2025 Chelsea Gold medal winning The Glasshouse Garden.

On 3 May, Jo leads her own talk, Designing a Romantic Garden, sharing the techniques and thinking behind her approach to creating gardens with atmosphere, romance, and a sense of timeless enchantment. A practical and inspiring session inspired by her book The New Romantic Garden.

The festival brings together an international range of speakers from garden design, horticulture, historic gardens, food growing, and nature conservation, set against the gardens of Ballintubbert House.

festivalofgardensandnature.com

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Jo partners with Crocus to launch new plant collection

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 08:47:54 +0000

Jo is partnering with Crocus, the UK’s leading online plant retailer, bringing her approach to planting to a wider audience.

The two-year collaboration will see Jo develop a series of exclusive rose and perennial collections, launching in 2027, alongside a year-round programme of seasonal content. The collections will be developed and trialled in real garden settings before launch, and one will draw directly on the planting from her RHS Chelsea 2025 gold medal-winning garden, The Glasshouse Garden.

The partnership launches this year with a programme of content across Crocus’ channels, beginning with a Rose Masterclass in June, guiding gardeners on how to choose roses and combine them with perennials.

Visit Jo’s page at Crocus to find out more.

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Jo Thompson to Design Archers 75th Anniversary Garden at RHS Badminton

admin — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 09:07:36 +0000

Jo has been announced as the designer of The Archers 75th Anniversary Garden at this year’s RHS Badminton Flower Show in July.

Created to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the long-running BBC Radio 4 programme, the garden will bring to life one of the series’ most familiar locations: Bridge Farm. Inspired by the fictional farm’s organic ethos and strong sense of community, the garden will feature elements inspired by life at Bridge Farm, including orchard fruit trees set within a wildflower meadow, a wildlife pond, a potting bench and references to the farm’s cheese-making heritage.

The design also draws on recent storylines from the programme, imagining the Bridge Farm garden being lovingly replanted following the devastating sewage spill that affected the farm in the drama.

RHS Badminton Flower Show
8 – 12 July 2026

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Jo Thompson at Winchester Books Festival

admin — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 09:04:52 +0000

Award-winning garden designer Jo Thompson will be appearing at this year’s Winchester Books Festival for a special conversation celebrating her book The New Romantic Garden.

Taking place at the historic Guildhall in Winchester, Jo will be in conversation with writer and journalist Natasha Poliszczuk, sharing the ideas, stories and inspirations behind the 30 beautiful gardens featured in the book.

Through these projects, Jo explores how gardens can be both beautiful and environmentally thoughtful – atmospheric spaces that nurture wildlife as well as the people who spend time in them.

Whether you are an experienced gardener, designing your own outdoor space, or simply love gardens and the stories they tell, the event promises an inspiring celebration of the beauty, creativity and emotional power of gardens.

Saturday 18 April 2026
3:30pm

The Guildhall
High Street, Winchester
SO23 9GH

Tickets and further details are available here.

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