Garden Designer based in Staffordshire

Heathers formal qualification is in fashion design and working freelance gave her the freedom to diversify her design skills, to the garden, establishing Heather Boardman gardens for the individual in 1997

With over 20 years design experience in the world of fashion Heather has slipped seamlessly into designing gardens.

Built on this firm basis of design, for her, the attention to detail is paramount.
‘Getting it right’ is what sets one garden apart from another.

A keen thirst for horticultural knowledge led to her studying horticulture at Reaseheath Agricultural College

Her passion and enthusiasm for good design together with a life long love of plants enable her to create beautiful gardens for her clients.

On a number of occasions Heathers home has been featured in several ‘Glossy’ house magazines, including Country Living.

In 2002 Heather was approached by Country Living Magazine to create “A Country Living Garden for an Urban Space”. The garden was awarded a Gold Medal by the Royal Horticultural Society and won ‘Best in Show’

This gave rise to two national T.V. interviews, on B.B.C., in prime time slots. Plus several regional interviews, and press coverage in both “glossies” and national and regional newspapers.

In 2003 when she created the garden for Laura Ashley she won another R.H.S. medal, bringing them the same high level of media coverage, together with pieces in both “The Times” and “The Telegraph”.

Now, by means of her weekly newspaper column, she hopes to motivate and inspire others, through her Imaginative and lively articles.

Heather has lived most of her working life Nether Alderley, Cheshire, working from her garden studio. She now lives and works in The Peak District which is within easy reach of the North West, Midlands and the South.

Heather Boardman is a member of The Garden Writers Guild.

“Whilst I’d created my own gardens I felt it important to have experience of other people’s gardens so my first contracts involved me at ground level, painting digging and planting.”

“Planting is and always will be a passion for me. I hate to leave that to anyone else. At the very least I like to select and set out all the plants, and then supervise their planting.”

Sam Youd A.H.R.H. F.Inst.Hort. Head Gardener Tatton Park and RHS Associateship of Honour
“Heather Boardman has a ‘hands on’ approach. She brings practicality to garden design. Her gardens, whilst being stunning, actually work. She has an amazing ability to successfully fuse modern thinking to traditional gardening.”

Laura Ashley Press Office
“We’ve loved working with Heather. She understood the brief instantly and has designed a garden which captures the spirit of our brand exactly.”

Paul Foden, Client
‘We were introduced to Heather six years ago and we have been working together since then. In that time not only has she become a close friend of the family, but she has helped to transform our garden into an Italianate paradise. We have a Harding Watt house with a large garden and it isn't possible to do it all at once, but every year we undertake another project and the vision is starting to become a reality. Not only does she create wonderful planting schemes, she has also designed beautiful hard landscaping which is sympathetic with our extraordinary property. We have several more years of work to do and I am looking forward to it with relish.’

Neil and Christine Hamilton, Clients
'Heather is a breath of fresh air in your garden. Full of fizz and go, she quickly grasps what needs to be done and then gets on with it. Our borders have never looked back!'

The Times
“One of the highlights of the show is Heather Boardman’s Laura Ashley Garden which draws on the elements which inspired Laura Ashley, herself, including charming Sussex landscapes, the wild countryside of Wales and the grandeur of a châteaux in Picardy.”

Monty Don
‘Wow, now this is my sort of garden.’ (The Country Living garden)
‘This garden is well, just so pretty.’ (The Laura Ashley garden)

Diarmuid Gavin
‘Fantastic!!!!’ (The Laura Ashley garden)

Alexandra Baulkwill
Features Development Manager ‘The Garden’
Heather is a stylish designer who shows flair yet discernment in her designs. An exceptional eye for detail, her gardens stand out from the rest making them gold medal winning exhibits.