First steps towards a
BUSINESS
SANCTUARY FOR SURVIVORS
Debut designer Emma O’Connell and show garden regular John Warland are joining together for this year’s Chelsea to create a garden for Freedom from Torture WORDS: ASHLEIGH BROWN
F
management side of things. But I had always wanted to be a garden designer. Like many people in our industry, it just took me a little longer to really have the confidence to make that leap, but I am very happy I did it,” says O’Connell, who is now reaping the rewards of that leap of faith by designing her first Sanctuary Garden at Chelsea – the Freedom from Torture Garden. One of the marketing directors at charity Freedom from Torture, who had worked with Project Giving Back, approached the organisation – which helps to fund and support UK charities to have a garden at Chelsea – to discuss working together again. Warland’s name came up in conversation as a recommendation for the project. He was put in touch with the charity and visited the centre, and after a couple of meetings was eager to help design a garden on its behalf, bringing O’Connell and her creative outlook into the fold to introduce her to the world of show gardens. Fortunately, their design made an impression. “The Project Giving Back application process is quite speculative. It's open to almost any charity, or any designer, pretty much from across the world – and we were lucky enough to be successful as one of the 15 gardens that will be exhibited at this year's show,” says Warland. Although he has no personal connection to Freedom for Torture, Warland‘s family has worked with prisoners abroad and Warland himself has also worked closely with World Vision at multiple Hampton Court and Chelsea shows.
or her RHS Chelsea Flower Show debut, Emma O’Connell has teamed up with multi-award-winning show garden designer, John Warland. Having worked together previously, both were keen to continue the partnership, and when the opportunity came up to work with each other at Chelsea and for a great charity too, it was too good an opportunity to miss. O’Connell first opened her practice, Emma O’Connell Garden Design, in 2017 and has been making a name for herself ever since, working on domestic designs across central London and down into Kent, Surrey, and Sussex. She hasn’t always been a garden designer, though. After working towards a degree in Music, O’Connell spent 10 years in the arts sector, predominantly in the orchestral world, in development and fundraising. “My background THE FREEDOM FROM TORTURE GARDEN was in the creative industry, but A SANCTUARY FOR SURVIVORS more on the finance and project
prolandscapermagazine.com
Pro Landscaper | February 2024
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