Lucy Mitchell has built a thriving career designing event installations for the likes of Pinterest and H&M but this year turned her hand to something new.
The East London artist turned landscape gardener has just made her debut at the Chelsea Flower Show and bagged a gold medal.
It’s the culmination of years of hard work; studying horticulture at college while raising two young children and running her events company Seven Sisters.
She said: “Over the last seven years I’ve been working on a nature-based installation for an event for the Duke of Richmond – working with plants made me happy and I could see how designing gardens could be a job I’d love and one that would work with family life.
“I’ve been going to the Chelsea Flower Show every year since 2017 and volunteered on other peoples’ gardens – exhibiting there was a life’s dream.”
Lucy’s garden ‘MGR Changing Tides Garden’ was a coastal garden, inspired by storm resilient plants that grow around shingle near the shoreline. She used recycled and reclaimed materials, including a weathered timber groyne and steel trench sheets.
She was joined throughout the show by her garden’s ambassador ocean explorer and TV presenter Paul Rose and King Charles and Queen Camilla were among those to visit.
She added: “The whole week was so overwhelming; you can’t take it in! So many people were taking photographs. I spoke to thousands of people and the interest they took was really special. It was a surreal, magical experience.
“I couldn’t believe it when I won the gold; it has given me confidence that I can do this!”
Now Lucy’s business La La Landscapes is going from strength to strength, offering garden design for households throughout the capital. She’s driven by sustainability, attracting wildlife and creating beautiful outdoor spaces that don’t require too much upkeep.
She added: “Gardens shouldn’t be viewed as an outside room – it’s about bringing gardens back to nature.”
