The Nature Of Design

Transforming humdrum areas into sublime spaces, sets Randle Siddeley apart. James Matthews discovers how he makes outdoor magic

Randle Siddeley is celebrated globally for his gift of transformation. No challenge is too daunting, as bleak muddy fields and uninspiring urban courtyards are reimagined as magical green oases, lending the houses they adjoin newfound stature and beauty. Randle Siddeley established his company 40 years ago and has since grown the company to an 80-strong team. Though often asked to transform large, expansive areas, he still relishes the detail in a small project and always delights in converting nondescript, small spaces, into imaginative, flowering havens. In Hong Kong, Randle created a series of6 to 8,000 square metre gardens for a new luxury housing development on a high ridge overlooking Discovery Bay, hand-picking and transporting 900 mature trees from the Chinese mainland. What was a vast barren area, now houses some of the world’s most desirable real estate. Randle is equally at home turning a tiny Mayfair courtyard into a luxury green haven.

From Hong Kong to Hampshire, Randle works with the world’s leading developers, architects and private clients on iconic classical and contemporary gardens of great cultural significance. His creativity is underpinned by simple but meticulous rules: the use of regional plants, never overburdening a garden with too many elements and always employing the best. “No client, plot or garden are ever the same,” Randle explains. “You have to understand the property, the soil type, where the sun rises and sets and how to maintain the garden. You can spend a fortune on a wonderful garden, but there’s little point if the plants don’t thrive.” It’s this pragmatic approach, coupled with his breadth of vision that enables Randle to create the innovative designs that so delight his clients. Ugliness yields to beauty as Randle’s knack of transformation and creating the ‘wow’ factor give even the most mundane or challenging areas an entirely new lease of glorious green life.