Hugo will be speaking about his journey as a budding landscape designer, achieving his many awards including RHS Young Garden Designer of the Year 2010, and the opportunities it has afforded him.

THE TRADE SHOW FOR THE LANDSCAPING INDUSTRY

LANDSCAPE is the trade exhibition for all those involved with interior & exterior landscaping and landscape gardening.

LANDSCAPE features manufacturers and suppliers of everything from cut flowers and vases through to pots and flag stones, conservatories and water features.

www.landscapeshow.co.uk

A couple of recent articles in the popular press have attempted to list the most influential people in gardens. It’s always an interesting read to see these lists when you are on the inside of an industry that is pretty good at publicity and spin, and when you can see which way the wind is really blowing.

It’s true that the likes of the CEOs of Homebase and B&Q, Mr Titchmarsh and the RHS’s own boss hold great influence but the real work that will change the way we think about gardens and landscapes in the future is being done on the ground, by their staff who are forming strategic decisions that are signed off by the people at the top. On a recent trade mission to Italy I was deeply impressed by buyers from some of the big supermarket chains who were forming public opinion through their purchases. Their own personal belief in environmental sustainability and an understanding of the customer has led to big investments in European horticulture, gardens and design. They were impressed by my budget for a single tree, I was impressed by the strength of their conviction and the support of nurseries in tough commercial conditions.

The other thing about these lists is that I also love the way that journalists think that journalists are the most influential people. As an owner of several garden businesses we see grass-roots opinion that completely bypasses their idealized ideas and the year in year out repetition of articles. The leader of a local allotment group or garden society, or the garden project helping to rehabilitate marginalized members of our society have more influence than the garden writer in the weekend magazine.

There are of course exceptions and I admire journalists like Matthew Appleby of Horticulture Week who are prepared to question the ridiculous in garden writing. And there are writers like Mark Diacono who appear to be single handedly transforming our idea about future food production. Of course that’s not fair as there are many people out there promoting new ideas such as the need to reassess how we feed our growing population through domestic gardening. Where people like Robert Hart led we now have practicing writers like Martin Crawford promoting forest gardening. For me these journalists and writers are the real influential heroes, not the self styled critics. They are at the coalface practicing what they preach and promoting future gardening.

Design is no different in many ways and there is undoubtedly a long list of people influencing how we look at our personal and public spaces. In the UK we are lucky enough to have the showcases like the Chelsea Flower Show and ideas are spread through all types of media. But for real future forecasting, to see what will really be happening in the next few years I feel we need to look not to those designers who have been at Chelsea year in year out but the new garden designers whose careers are really just taking off. Designers like Hugo Bugg, Tom Harfleet and Jamie Dunstan are coming forward with the really new ideas at these shows and are often influenced themselves by new technology and methods of sourcing. The established designers creating the big show gardens are often years behind these new guys in their understanding of what we need to do to ensure future garden prosperity. Admittedly its only when these ideas filter through to the ‘names’ that they gain widespread coverage but I’d be hard pressed to find one original ideas from these guys that hadn’t already been experimented with by an up and coming designer in their own garden, a willing client’s garden or on a small show exhibit. For really great ideas sure look at the big show gardens but turn around and take note of the smaller exhibits behind you.

So these big names, yes they are influential, but lets not forget the people out there making a huge difference through their actions, with no publicist, no back slapping, just an ability to see the future and generate ideas that will someday change the way we garden.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6828317

Young and talented, Hugo Bugg has been seen as a rising star ever since he was voted SGD Student Garden Designer of the Year 2008 …

As a role model for new garden design graduates, Hugo Bugg takes some beating. The last few years have been quite a whirlwind for him. In 2008, he graduated with a first class degree in garden design from University College Falmouth, and in the same year he was voted Student Garden Designer of the Year by the Society of Garden Designers.

He and fellow graduate Maren Hallenga then jointly took a six·month post with Cornwall County Council working on a £22million Lottery·funded project. As the six months came to an end, the pair put in a design for Future Gardens. The following year they were asked back to Cornwall County Council to be involved with the build of the Heartlands Project. At the same time, Hugo and Maren launched their own business ‘Hallenga and Bugg Landscape Design’ and built their garden for Future Gardens.

Future Gardens, part of the Butterfly World site in Hertfordshire, went really well, says Hugo. So well, in fact, that they were asked to hold a seminar at Grand Designs Live at the NEC in Birmingham, which led to some interesting private jobs. This was, however, also a difficult time for Maren whose twin sister Kristin had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Kristin went on to set up the charity Coppafeel!, to raise breast cancer awareness.

Work continued to flow in steadily for Hallenga and Bugg. At the end of 2009, Maren made the decision to spend more time with her sister and work full·time for Coppafeel! and Hugo went solo. Wanting to keep his name in the media and maintain the pace, he decided on another show garden. In 2010 he designed his first solo garden at Tatton for which he got Gold and Best in Show, and at the same time he won the RHS Young Garden Designer of the Year competition.

Hugo is setting his sights on Chelsea and on being the youngest designer to ever build a large show garden there. This year, he’ll be at Hampton Court with the Coppafeel! Garden (www.coppafeelgarden.com). It will be an interactive space that visitors can wander through, and aims to provoke thought and heighten awareness. Meanwhile, Hugo spends a lot of his time traveling between projects in London and Cornwall. Although it’s just him in the practice for now, he thinks it likely that he’ll be expanding by the end of the year. Sounds like a certainty.

A little happy when awarded Gold!

Eventually, time to celebrate!

Yum

The Team!

Heartlands is a £35million project that will transform 19 acres of mine land in to a unique cultural space for the community and visitors alike to play, live, work and learn.

Hugo Bugg Landscapes was employed during 2008/09 to work alongside a large design team completing initial designs and plans for Pool village green and on the selection panel shortlisting Artists for sculptures within Heartlands.

View case study

The CoppaFeel! Garden is a unique showcase of garden design together with a clear message with the express intention of startling the onlooker and getting across a very important message. This garden has been conceived to captivate, educate and unsettle visitors; keeping the importance of women getting to know their own breasts at its core. At the same time the garden is a journey, open for the visitors to explore and enjoy. The eye-catching design reflects some of CoppaFeel’s true qualities: ambitious, proactive, positive and bold, which is evident throughout the whole design. Apart from being able to view the garden form three sides it offers the opportunity for visitors to wander through CoppaFeel!’s highly interactive creation.

Please visit www.coppafeelgarden.com for further details on this show garden.