About - Joe Perkins Award Winning Garden & Landscape Design

About Joe

Joe has designed, built and planted gardens for over 20 years. A part-time garden maintenance job whilst studying English Literature at university was the beginning of a career in landscape which has included wide-ranging experience in construction and design, and has involved living in the UK, Southern France, and Spain.
Joe now leads a team of talented designers from his studio in Hove, East Sussex.

About Joe

Joe has designed, built and planted gardens for over 20 years. A part-time garden maintenance job whilst studying English Literature at university was the beginning of a career in landscape which has included wide-ranging experience in construction and design, and has involved living in the UK, Southern France, and Spain.
Joe now leads a team of talented designers from his studio in hove, East Sussex.

He studied garden design at the Oxford College of Garden Design, graduating with distinction in 2002. This was followed a few years later by a Masters degree in Landscape Architecture from Greenwich University.
Over his career, Joe has worked for many high profile landscape and garden designers and has been a director and manager of a respected landscape construction company, including 12 years of involvement in planning and delivering gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show and other RHS shows.

As a Registered Member of the Society of Garden Designers (MSGD), a qualified Garden Designer and Landscape Architect, Joe brings years of experience and formal training to every commission.

Joe is somewhat of a rarity in his profession as he is both qualified and experienced as a Landscape Architect, Garden Designer, Project Manager and Construction Manager, allowing him to have an overview of any project from multiple angles.

Joe is a keen writer and writes for various garden media publications as well as being a member of the editorial committee for the Garden Design Journal. He has also been a visiting lecturer for the London College of Garden Design. He is available for talks both in the U.K. and abroad. Joe loves to travel which is a great source of inspiration for his designs. He also speaks Spanish and French which helps when working with clients internationally.

“I grew up in the countryside and have always loved the great outdoors and nature. I am fascinated by plants. As much as I have always loved to design, draw and build, it is the limitless creative possibilities plants provide which makes my job so rewarding.
I don’t have a fixed style and I don’t follow fashions. I’m equally comfortable designing a large traditional country garden as a contemporary urban roof terrace or a multi-use public space.
My style is dictated by the setting, the architecture in that setting and the client brief. Variety makes my work interesting and exciting and I love the challenge each new project brings. One thing all my projects have in common is the ambition to deliver to the client a garden that exceeds all their expectations”.

The Studio

Joe Perkins Design is a multi-award winning practice based in Hove, East Sussex. We work on private garden sanctuaries through to corporate office rooftops across London, Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Hampshire, the Cotswolds and internationally.
As a Garden Design and Landscape Architecture studio, we strive to deliver the absolute best, to take advantage of every opportunity that the site may offer and to listen carefully to our clients’ needs and wishes.
Our ethos of attention to detail and sustainable garden design flows through to each and every aspect of the process, from the initial analysis to the final planting and on to the aftercare and ongoing management of the finished project if our longer term advice and support is required.

We approach each garden or landscape design as a unique response to the site and to the client brief.
We believe that the key to good design is to identify a narrative that resonates with the space; which has real context and a sense of place. This means that your garden will be just that – your garden, unlike any other and tailored to suit you and your property.
As a studio, we comply with industry standards and follow the codes of conduct for the Society of Garden Designers and the Landscape Institute.
We work with a trusted network of suppliers and craftspeople with whom we have built up close relationships over many years and who we trust to deliver to the highest standards.
We are advocates of working sustainably and believe both the garden design and implementation process should follow this ethic.
We select and source materials locally whenever possible and plant the right plants in the right place according to the local conditions, choosing species that benefit wildlife and pollinating insects in particular.
As professional designers in the garden and landscaping industry, we believe that we are able to use our knowledge and experience to help influence change and inform the choices we make both as individuals and at community level in the face of the growing threats from climate change.

“To plant trees is to give body and life to one’s dreams of a better world.”
Russell Page

Natalia Odescalchi

Natalia is responsible for the operations and marketing for the practice. With a background in the Arts, she brings a constructive and critical eye to the business as a whole. Past experience includes working in film and art galleries both in the UK and abroad.

Natalia is a photographer, having studied at the London College of Printing, and so she is able to capture the studio’s work once projects have been completed.

Natalia is also Joe’s wife and when the practice was set up it was all hands on deck!