About
A passion that took root in a patch of my own
I’m James Marshall, a garden designer based in Guernsey, and just as happy with a spade in my hand. I bring together a lifelong love of plants and a career spent designing how people experience spaces.
Where it began
I grew up in a family of horticulture in the Cotswolds. My mum spent part of her career as a gardener, and from the very beginning I was encouraged to be outside.
As a young boy I was given my own patch of the family garden to shape however I liked, and that’s where my passion took root. I often went along with Mum to our local gardening club. Members would regularly ask whether she’d been unable to find someone to look after me, and each time I’d explain that I was there because I loved gardens.
That passion deepened when I bought my first home. The garden was small, but it became a place to experiment, and I learnt a great deal from it.
The allotment
A blank canvas of 140 square metres
In my early thirties I took on an allotment and treated it as a place to test my design ideas on a limited budget. Among rows of bare, purely functional plots, mine became a haven: a designed oasis divided into distinct zones, shaped around how someone might move through and experience it.
“My fellow plot holders thought I was slightly mad, but it showed me what careful design can achieve with modest means.”
Two disciplines, one approach
Gardens designed as journeys
A designer’s eye
I hold a first class honours degree in graphic design and have spent many years managing and leading digital product and user experience projects. That work is all about how people move through and experience a space.
A considered process
It’s also about planning complex projects so they run smoothly from first idea to finished result. I bring both to every garden: each one a journey through spaces with their own mood and sense of discovery, with a process as considered as the outcome.
In Guernsey
Designing and planting island gardens since 2022
Since moving to Guernsey in 2022, I’ve worked on a range of private gardens across the island alongside Chris Jesson of The Groovy Gardener, contributing planting design, plant sourcing and hands-on work.
Today I design gardens of every size. On larger projects I work with trusted hard landscaping teams to build the design; planting schemes I carry out myself, from sourcing to aftercare.
See my workInspiration
Gardens I return to
I draw constant inspiration from visiting gardens. These are among my favourites.
Let’s talk about your garden
The first conversation is free, with no obligation. Tell me about your space and what you’d like it to become.
Book a free consultation