Randle Siddeley established his business over 40 years ago and now works with a team of 80. No challenge is too small or too daunting, as shabby urban courtyards or muddy fields are reincarnated as magical green oases, lending the houses they adjoin newfound stature and beauty.
Bringing the outdoors inside and making the most of all outdoor space has been more important than ever during lockdown. Increasingly, clients have turned to landscape architect and garden designer Randle Siddeley to come up with clever solutions for their outside spaces. So, 2021 was a busy year in the UK for Randle, after finishing his huge Hong Kong project – the first of its kind in the world – creating six complementary but different gardens for a luxury development overlooking Discovery Bay.
Many of his 2021 projects were based on the concept of integrating the garden with the house to extend and enhance family living. His most recent project, Riverdance, is a property stretching for 50 acres along the banks of the Thames. The client, who had lived in the house for 40 years, wanted to give the grounds a new lease of life by breaking up the more formal areas so they could be enjoyed by her children and grandchildren. Randle set about keeping the existing formal gardens but planting wilder-looking plants and grasses, reducing the hedgerows to open up views and connect the house to the wider landscape.
Another project was at the 2,000 sq/m ultra-contemporary retreat in a Conservation Area of Hampstead. The house is a tribute to innovative technology, sustainability, design and engineering, set over three floors with most of the living space below ground. The concept for the green roof was to integrate and meld it into the overall design of the gardens, providing visual continuity between them and the house. Randle planted the upper garden to look like a lush woodland, creating a fun space for the family, with recreational pavilion and children’s play deck above the tree roots. Access to this is via a series of floating steps interspersed with generous landings. There is also a sunny southern garden, accessed from the lower ground floor, where the interior and exterior are most closely related. Here, Randle installed a sophisticated fire-pit and banquette seating to provide a great entertaining space.
In Islington, Randle is working to bring the inside out at a client’s home, transforming the garden into an all-year-round dining and entertainment area, with integrated heating and an outdoor kitchen.
Randle’s ‘On Location’ Instagram posts have become increasingly popular as he’s discovered and shown people the best outdoor dining options, like Guy Ritchie’s Cashmere Kitchens. He has also responded to the trend for growing vegetables, and has designed and planted herb and vegetable gardens for several clients.
Never have the outdoors and nature been more prominent in the British consciousness. With his talent and reputation for transformation, Randle is increasingly in demand for his creative solutions and pragmatic approach that have enabled him to help people transform their outside spaces to create their dream homes.
