Robert Ketchell

Designing and creating landscapes and gardens has been my life’s work. It is a passion that has driven me and shaped the course of my life. Studying in Japan opened a door on a way of looking at and understanding gardens, it taught me gardens can be an art form at the deepest level. Ever since that time I have sought to draw inspiration from both Western and Eastern traditions. Garden spaces are a vital healing force that help us to cope with the stresses and strains of the world we live in.

SERVICES

Design and Build service
Aesthetic pruning
Water features
Planting schemes & border planting
Large or small garden spaces
Consultancy/Lectures/Tours
Japanese style gardens

To view Robert’s Portfolio – CLICK HERE

Robert Ketchell has over 30 years of designing and creating gardens in the UK and beyond. He initially trained in horticulture at Askham Bryan College of Horticulture, York, and then subsequently worked for several years in Kyoto, Japan, as a garden apprentice. This unusual background has allowed him to draw on both garden traditions and an ability to blend both western and eastern approaches to garden creation, which gives his gardens a distinctive and enduring quality.

He has worked on projects for both private and commercial clients in Britain, Europe, the US and Japan.

1994-6
Teaching and lecturing at the School of Oriental Garden Studies, Tatton Park, Cheshire, England.

1995
Tea garden, ‘Fugetsu-an’, and Tea house at Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons, hotel and restaurant near Oxford, England.

1997
Founding committee member of the Japanese Garden Society, now a 700+ member organisation. Served as Editor of Shakkei, the Society magazine, and also as Chairman for seven years.

1998-2000
Garden of the Ox and Oxherder, designed and created for Osmosis Spa, Sonoma County California.

2001
Author of ‘Japanese Gardens in a Weekend’, published by Hamlyn Press, which appeared in several imprints and has been subsequently translated into several languages. Also published numerous articles for magazines and periodicals.

2003
Wrote and directed video documentary film, Shishu (‘Poetic Beauty’). A study of the Japanese garden tradition (available through www.worldspirit.org.uk).

2004
Commissioned to create a large themed garden for children at Spalding, England.

2005-6
Garden project at Walkden Gardens, a public garden in Manchester, England.

2007
Garden of Reflection and Reconciliation for Willowbrook Hospice, England.

2010
Garden of Contemplation at Norwich Cathedral, to compliment new Hostery building opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

2010
Garden of Sionna. A garden for the World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick, Ireland.

2011
Design for new garden project for Willowbrook Hospice.

2012
Appointed Japanese garden consultant to Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons, and tasked with the redevelopment of the tea garden Fugetsu-an.

Contact

24 Diana Road
London
E17 5LF

Tel: 07968 582 298
Email: [email protected]