Robin Williams - Distinguished Garden Designer

Now semi-retired, but still one of the UK’s most notable garden designers, Robin Williams has enjoyed a long and illustrious career in the garden and landscape design industry. Beginning in 1960 when he set up his own landscape design and contracting company, he later became a director of Fonthill Nursery and chief garden designer at Jackman's Nursery at Woking in Surrey.

Passionate about advancing the garden and landscape design profession, Robin’s teaching career took off in the early 1980's when he co-founded the College of Garden Design - an establishment which nurtured and developed the talents of some of the UK's top garden designers. Since then he has undertaken lecture tours across the US and Japan and speaks regularly to audiences of staff, members and fellow garden designers at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Wisley.

Robin has written, co-written, edited and/or illustrated a dozen best-selling books on different aspects of gardening and garden design (click on Publications, left, for details of titles currently available). The most successful, The Garden Planner, published in 1990, is probably the most authoritative and widely used reference source of its type and has been reprinted six times! Robin also wrote regularly for 'Popular Gardening' magazine throughout the 1970's and 80's and was a contributor to several BBC television gardening programmes, including 'Gardeners' World' and 'Good Morning'.

Throughout the 1980's and 1990's Robin consistently won recognition as an expert garden designer, with his gardens at the RHS's Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows regularly being honoured. Among the eleven medals he received at Chelsea were two Golds, for gardens designed for Help the Aged. Since 1998 he has created several more stunning 'show gardens', notably at major exhibitions and festivals in Japan.

Robin is unquestionably one of the most respected figures on the international landscape and garden design scene. He was the first person ever to be made a Fellow of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (in 2002). He is also a Founder Member, Fellow and former Chairman of the Society of Garden Designers and Fellow of the Institute of Horticulture. He was a show garden judge at the Chelsea Flower Show for 16 years and a member of the RHS's council for five years. In 2003, the RHS also awarded him the Veitch Memorial Medal in recognition of 'services given in the advancement of the science and practice of horticulture'.

Despite now being in semi-retirement, Robin remains a passionate garden designer and still makes a valuable contribution to the business, lending his enormous expertise and experience whenever it is needed.