JUDGES

Main Awards Judges 2021

A panel of independent and respected experts, including designers, academics, journalists and horticultural professionals, will be selecting the shortlisted and winning designs.

Richard Sneesby - Head Judge

Richard is a landscape architect, garden designer, author & until recently was course leader of the award winning degree course in GD at University College Falmouth. He has presented a number of TV series, was co-author of The Garden; Maker’s Manual & wrote the ‘how to design’ sections of the RHS Encyclopedia of GD.

Richard runs a landscape & garden design practice, has won a number of design awards, delivers specialist workshops for the SGD & been an external examiner & assessor for many landscape and garden design courses at home and  abroad. Richard will be judging the main awards.

Tommaso del Buono MSGD

Tommaso del Buono, CMLI MSGD, left his native Florence in the 80s to study Landscape Architecture at the University of Greenwich. Having set up his own practice, Del Buono Gazerwitz, in 2000, he has since masterminded the creation of many beautiful gardens and Landscapes, in the UK and internationally. Currently working on projects in Italy, Ireland, France and Spain as well as the UK, he was awarded a Gold Medal at Chelsea for the garden created for the Daily Telegraph in 2014 as well as a Silver Gilt for Daylesford Organic in 2008. In 2016 Tommaso was the recipient of both the SGD International and Grand Awards for a large private garden and country estate in the south of France.

Annie Guilfoyle

Annie Guilfoyle is an award-winning designer and an RHS Chelsea Flower Show Silver Medal winner.  She has a BA Honours Degree in Garden Design from Middlesex University. Annie combines running a successful garden design consultancy with lecturing internationally and writing on the subject.  Annie’s design work has featured on several televisions programmes, such as BBC Small Town Gardens. For 18 years Annie was the director of Garden Design at KLC School of Design at Hampton Court Palace, Surrey, and is currently the Garden Course Consultant at West Dean College, near Chichester, West Sussex. In her role as director of Garden Design at KLC, she was instrumental in establishing the highly acclaimed garden design courses. Many of Annie’s students have gone onto to become successful, award-winning designers.  Annie now runs a      garden design course at Great Dixter, Northiam in East Sussex.

Andrea Jones

Andrea has won multiple awards for her photography, most recently The UK Garden Media Guild’s ‘Gordon Rae Photographer of the Year’ 2018.Based in Scotland, her private and press assignments take her travelling around the globe throughout the seasons.  In addition she has illustrated many books and authored three.  ‘At West Dean’ by Jim Buckland & Sarah Wain was published in 2018 and Andrea’s photography for this has been critically acclaimed. Andrea's work documents West Dean’s landscape,  gardens and plants whilst also recording the horticultural practices used to create the renowned Sussex Estate. Her own best selling book ‘The Garden Source’, looks at the various devices of garden design that contribute to the creation of a successful outdoor space.  She was honoured when the late US designer James van Sweden agreed to write the foreword for the First Edition. Andrea enjoys working with Garden Designers to document their work. Tom Stuart-Smith and his practice are amongst her clients.

Teresa Conway

Teresa has recently joined the SGD judging panel after taking up the Gardens Editor position at Future Publishing (formerly TI Media). She oversees garden content across multiple brands including Homes & Gardens, Country Homes & Interiors, as well as more recent gardening titles aimed at a newer garden audience, Easy Gardens. She has an eye on all areas of the gardens industry and it is her absolute privilege to be on the panel this year. As a relative newcomer to the industry, she hopes she can bring something to the table and looks forward to working alongside such esteemed colleagues.

Dr Phil Askew

Dr Phil Askew is Director of Landscape & Placemaking at Peabody leading on Thamesmead, London’s New Town and one of London’s largest regeneration and development projects.  He has a background in Horticulture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design and leading on major regeneration and green infrastructure projects.  Prior to his current role he led the design and delivery of the London 2012 Olympic Park at the Olympic Delivery Authority and its transformation into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the UKs largest new urban park in over a century. With Peabody he is leading a process to ensure the unique landscape assets of Thamesmead are integrated into the regeneration process and create the greatest opportunities for the current and future population through landscape led green infrastructure.

Juliet Sargeant MSGD

Juliet’s first career in medicine, informs her approach to designing gardens and communicating the importance of landscape to our well-being. She also believes that gardens are a neglected artform, with the potential to communicate complex ideas and emotions. In 2016, Juliet designed the Modern Slavery Garden for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show . It was Chelsea’s first social campaign garden and was awarded a Gold Medal and the People’s Choice Award. Juliet also has two SGD awards: Sustainability (2012) and Hard Landscaping (2015). In 2016 the GG2 Awards celebrated Juliet as a BAME role-model and she was an Evening Standard’s Progress 100 influential person. Previously, Chair of The Soc. Garden Designers and now a Fellow, Juliet also selects & judges for the RHS. She is a familiar face on gardening TV programmes (BBC Gardeners World; regular coverage of The RHS Chelsea Flower Show; BBC Inside Out; Ch4’s Operation People Power and Ch4’s Village of the Year) and has recently been conferred Fellowship of the Landscape Institute.

Julie Toll FSGD

Julie Toll has been designing gardens in the UK and abroad since 1982, gaining international recognition by winning 7 gold and 2 silver medals including Best in Show at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show. She has always had a deep passion for gardens and horticulture – she trained at Pershore College of Horticulture specialising in tree and shrubs before studying to become a garden designer at the English Gardening School. Her lifelong interest in the natural world lies at the core of her design philosophy. Julie's inspiration has been garnered from a deep knowledge of plants and natural materials always working with the environment in a sustainable way. Julie's work has been featured extensively in the media.

Jo Thompson MSGD

Named one of the ‘Leading Garden Designers of Today’ (House & Garden), ‘Best Rural Garden Designer’ (2011) and the Society of Garden Designers ‘Future Designer’ (2014), Jo’s planting technique has led her to be considered one of the UK’s leading plantswomen. Listed by House and Garden magazine as one of the country’s top ten garden designers, she has been the recipient of four Gold and four Silver Gilt medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and also received a gold medal and won the People’s Choice award at the RHS Chatsworth Flower Show in 2017.  She is also a member of the RHS Gardens Committee and Garden Advisor for RHS Rosemoor, as well as being a member of the RHS Show Gardens Selection Panel.  Jo lectures both nationally and internationally and also tutors at the London College of Garden Design.

Rod Winrow

Rod Winrow, is the Managing Director of award-winning landscape company Garden House Design which is passionate about great design and high-quality construction in all aspects of landscaping. They have built RHS show gardens, 7 medals including 2 golds, various industry awards and has been building gardens for 26 years. He is also the past chair of the APL. Rod's experience of over 20 years in the industry, enthusiasm and attention to detail is paramount to the success of his company and what makes him a trusted partner to many fellow industry colleagues when working together on projects. Rod's company Garden House Design is based on the South Coast.

Student Awards Judges 2021

Sarah Morgan MSGD

Sarah Morgan is an award-winning Landscape Designer working on projects home and abroad. Sarah has spent over 35 years working with clients, architects, developers and contractors to develop a design ethic that produces landscapes that are visionary, stimulating, purposeful, and considerate of long-term management and maintenance requirements.  Sarah has recognised the importance of training Landscape Consultants and Designers to have a firm knowledge and understanding of designing with plants within a sympathetic structural framework. Sarah was Programme Leader at University Kent at Canterbury for the PG Diploma in ‘Garden History, Management and Design’ (1994-1999); Head of faculty, Landscape Horticulture and Design, and Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) Garden Design at Hadlow College (2009-2014), and lecturer in Planting Design at the University of Greenwich.

Debbie Roberts MSGD

Award-winning garden designer Debbie Roberts MSGD established Acres Wild in West Sussex in partnership with Ian Smith MSGD in 1988. They specialise in the design and master planning of larger country gardens throughout Sussex, Surrey, Kent and Hampshire, as well as the Channel Islands (Guernsey) and abroad. They create unique and timeless gardens with enduring appeal and a harmonious sense of place. Debbie won the SGD International Design Award in 2014 and is the current holder of the Large Residential Garden Award.

Cleve West MSGD

Cleve West has built a reputation for innovative garden landscapes. His creative use of space and harmonious planting, delivered with his characteristic dramatic sense of energy and inspiration, puts him at the forefront of contemporary garden design in the UK. Cleve is a member of the Society of Garden Designers (MSGD) and has seven RHS gold medals to his credit including Best in Show at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2011 and 2012. Cleve designed Horatio’s garden which won the People’s Choice Award at the 2014 SGD Awards