Jo Alderson Phillips is a multi-award-winning garden designer based near Oxford on the edge of the Cotswolds. With over 30 years of experience in listening to and collaborating closely with her clients, she produces well-considered, stylish garden and landscape designs, to suit their needs and lifestyle. The architectural character of the plot is always important as is proportion... designs complement the character of the architecture and the plot. Work regularly includes country estates up to 30 acres and town courtyards. However all projects are equally important! There is always a focus on lifestyle, structure & balance. Less is more is very much her thinking - Jo tends to use a limited palette of materials, colours and plants to ensure drama, simplicity and unity. Jo is a Chelsea and BBC People's Choice winner.
Garden & landscape design & build, including lighting plans
"Elegant, understated & stylish gardens with year-round interest and great lighting."
"Always in demand, Jo does not have a studio full of designers. It is Jo who designs all her gardens & is in direct contact with her clients. Always available, it is very much a bespoke & personal service with ongoing dialogue & exchange of ideas. She has worked with her excellent team of contractors for many years. They bring spectacular designs to life. Here are a few…
The first couple of photos here are of Jo’s own Cotswold garden. The courtyard garden was designed to be low maintenance and have year-round interest. It had to look good from all angles as the house and studio are a series of converted Cotswold barns that wrap right around it. The main reflection pool is viewed directly from the kitchen/dining room and looks particularly wonderful at night. The 4 mature acers in corten planters make striking features and perching places too. As the garden is south-facing they were placed to create vital shade and form a room within a room - perfect for dining alfresco.
The French-style walled garden shown here is near Henley-on-Thames and on first viewing was a completely blank canvas. It now features a dining terrace, knot garden, formal lawns, quirky topiary & a kitchen garden with raised beds & pleached trees. The centrepiece is a traditional French stone fountain that both sounds fantastic and always looks beautiful. It’s formally laid out but there’s blousy seasonal planting too for colour and scent.
Images 6, 7 & 8 form part of an ongoing project - a classical Georgian country mansion set within several acres and currently being built in phases. The areas immediately beside the house are formal with smartly clipped topiary and frothy planting. Further away there is a secret garden, kitchen garden, wildflower meadows and a small lake with a sinuous boardwalk that leads to a woodland walk beyond."
Banner, 6, 7 & 8: Mark Lord; Image 2-4: James Wilson; Image 5: JAW Designs
