Transformational Garden Design Practice By Randle Siddeley

Randle Siddeley is an entry in our Great British Brands 2023 book. 

Randle Siddeley: Great British Brand 2023

‘No project is too daunting or too small for us. We can transform any space, from an historic estate to a muddy field or dingy backyard. Last year we did just that, transforming a big estate, Riverdance on the Thames. Pre-pandemic I was on a plane every other month flying between all my international projects, but without travelling, and along with other projects, we’re going to complete Riverdance in record time, an amazing achievement for such a formidable project. 

‘Our client has lived in the property for 50 years and wanted to give the landscape a new lease of life for her and the family. The garden dated back to the Eighties, when people compartmentalised gardens to create “rooms”. But when you have an amazing view with lake and river, it seems crazy just to have a little window portal in your hedge, so we adopted a scorched earth policy to break down those areas of rigid formality. One problem was ensuring privacy because people on boats coming upriver could see whomever was on the lawn. So, I replaced some hornbeam chimney-pot shapes with a natural screen made of four dovetailing eyelid-shaped beds, containing perennials, mature trees and beech-shaped beehives. Today the property has a real wow factor, with gorgeous open vistas and the stream snaking through the landscape. 

‘This year I’ll be travelling more again, as Randle Siddeley Limited will be working on a seaside villa being constructed near Barcelona and a hotel with private villas in Bodrum. At home, we’re creating teams of gardeners for various projects, because maintenance is critical to what we do. My challenge for this year is finding enough passionate, capable gardeners to work with because I’m always thinking of how to help people keep their gardens looking at their most beautiful.’ Randle Siddeley, founder.

Brand Timeline 

1978

Randle Siddeley founds his design business, which is now one of the leading landscape architecture, construction and maintenance companies. 

2018

After 40 successful years, Randle Siddeley Limited creates diverse gardens for six individual villas in a new luxury  development in Hong Kong.

2020

Randle wins the Independent Publishers’ Gold Medal for his second book The Garden: Before & After, published by Papadakis. 

2021

Randle Siddeley Limited achieves an honourable mention for the Discovery Bay project at the Landscape Architecture Awards. 

2022

Randle Siddeley Limited takes on a new project, Riverdance, a 27-acre estate on the banks of the River Thames. It  will be completed this year. 

DID YOU KNOW?

1. Randle was influenced by his father, John Siddeley, an interior designer who worked on projects  like the Harlequin Suite in The Dorchester Hotel. 
2. The 18th-century landscape gardener, Humphry Repton, inspired Randle to write. Repton’s books included before and after sketches. 
3. Randle doesn’t have a garden himself, but gets enough of a horticultural fix from the time he devotes to his clients’ gardens. 
4. Randle Siddeley Limited worked with luxury interior design company Finchatton to complete the gardens for the Four Seasons’ new serviced apartments in Grosvenor Square. 
5. Randle Siddeley Limited created a series of gardens north-west of Quebec for a palatial Franco-Russian style house in dramatic mountainous scenery between two lakes. 

Randle Siddeley Limited

Trafalgar House, Juniper Drive, London, SW18 1GY

+44 (0)20 7627 7260

randlesiddeley.co.uk

@randlesiddeley