Julian Dowle - The Garden Designer
Widely
acknowledged as one of the UK's most accomplished garden designers, Julian
Dowle first captured the attention of the garden design world in 1970, when
his 'New English Garden' won a silver gilt medal at the RHS
Chelsea Flower Show.
Many further awards followed during the 70s, 80s and 90s before Julian took a short break from competitive designing. Julian returned to Chelsea with a bang in 2002, winning the BBC/RHS People's Choice Award for the most popular show garden in that year and again in 2004. That was intended to be his final year of competitive design, but the opportunity presented by the Royal Hospital Chelsea to design a garden for the Chelsea Pensioners proved a challenge he could not resist. His design, the 'Ecover Chelsea Pensioners' Garden', brought him his 11th gold, 'Best in Show' and third 'People's Choice Award'. Julian also judges at RHS Shows and many international Garden Shows.
A love of plants
Julian's involvement with gardens began in the 1960s in his home county of Kent, when he worked as a market gardener. His love of plants and his artistic leanings soon led him to start doing what he loves most - designing and building gardens. Julian's first garden was a humble rockery in Dorset. Since those early days he has gone on to design more than 7000 gardens, including many in the United States, New Zealand and even Japan. In the early days the garden design world tended to frown on those who got their hands dirty. Julian Dowle helped to change all that. For many years he headed a company which both designed and built gardens of all sizes and styles. In 1996 Julian handed over the construction side of the business to his son Peter Dowle and now devotes all his energies to the design and creation of gardens.
New Wine in Old Bottles
Julian believes in keeping the best features of an old garden where appropriate and bringing in new features which will enhance and complement it. The title of one of Julian's lectures, 'New Wine in Old Bottles', reflects this interest. Julian Dowle brings to every scheme a combination of artistic flair, horticultural expertise and rigorous attention to detail. His keen interest in day-to-day gardening - he has created and maintains his own beautiful garden in Gloucestershire, ensuring he never loses touch with the realities of garden maintenance.