Cultivating Beauty, Alexandra Noble on Landscape Design, her Process, Purpose and Merging Plants with Interiors
We discuss; creating Zimmerman's 'Wonderland', her journey through childhood, finding new inspiration and designing sustainable green spaces.
After training in architecture, and then further studies in horticulture, before branching out on her own in 2017, Alexandra Noble is now emerging as one of the most prominent landscape designers in the UK.
As the winner of the RHS People’s Choice Award in 2018 at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, name-checked by Vogue as one of ‘Britain’s Most Talented Female Gardeners’, One of the ‘Hottest New Garden Designers to know’, by Elle Decoration, and a ‘Rising Star’ by House & Garden magazine, it’s safe to say that Alexandra Noble’s creative eye and substantial talent is widely being recognised.
With her unique perspective across architecture, interior design and landscape design, Alexandra focuses on green spaces and gardens that harmoniously merge colour, texture, minimalism and structure with an environmental viewpoint.
Welcome to LAND Journals Alexandra.
The art and practice of Landscape design and gardening is as old as time itself, yet if there’s a new breed of landscape designer for the current century and moment, then surely it would be you. Your work seems to effortlessly move between worlds of architecture, fashion, interior and biophilic design, bringing a sense of newness and originality to your outside spaces.
To summarise for our readers; landscape design entails arranging the physical elements of a landscape to be beautiful, practical, personally meaningful, symbolic and a visually appealing space. It involves thoughtful consideration of factors such as climate, existing vegetation, soil type, topography, and intended usage of the space alongside its long-term impact on the landscape itself.
I’d love to delve into your work, past, present and future, to discover more about you, how you got started in landscape design, your working processes, and your creative life.
Rachel: Can you describe a typical day for you, are there any morning or afternoon rituals or practices that you have that help to nurture you creatively for the day ahead?
Alexandra: A typical day for me begins with a yoga session at home, followed by a breakfast of Greek yoghurt with raspberries and seeds. I’m a huge tea enthusiast, so I often have a mug of jasmine tea on the go, whilst responding to emails at my desk. When designing or mood boarding, I listen to podcasts and find lighting a scented candle enhances my focus. Later in the day, I sometimes go for a run where creative ideas or solutions often arise.
Rachel: I’ve read that your interest began during your extensive training in architecture. What drew you to landscape design in particular? Was there a pivotal moment of realisation for you?
Alexandra: During my Master’s of Architecture, the coursework included modules on urban design and landscape. An early project I worked on, involved designing a hypothetical park on a site in the Lea Valley. For the final year project, we then had the freedom to set our own brief in a European city, so I chose to design a horticultural research centre sited within a neglected old fortification, on the outskirts of Valetta. The site’s varied levels and growing conditions inspired me to create a botanic garden; featuring citrus and nut groves, a shade house, a greenhouse, and an arboretum. These experiences ignited my passion for designing outdoor spaces, leading me to pursue a career in landscape design immediately after graduating.
Rachel: Did any aspects of your childhood shape your journey into design? Were you always creative, or did you have to cultivate it?
Alexandra: Yes I was always creative! One of my earliest memories was begging my mum to draw outlines of princesses for me to colour in. As an older child, I was endlessly drawing and making things, mostly out of cereal boxes, tape and cardboard toilet rolls. I was especially inspired by a TV show called ‘Art Attack’, which I watched religiously. I was especially inspired by the ‘Big Art Attacks’, where the presenter created large-scale art pieces to be viewed from above. My brother and I even made our own version in the back garden using miscellaneous items from the garage, then admired our handiwork from the upstairs window!
Rachel: When beginning a new design - what are your starting or checkpoints for how you’ll create a newly designed landscape?
Alexandra: My first priority is spending time on-site with the client and taking several photos to document the space. On-site, I’ll analyse details such as; which direction the sun rises and sets, levels, existing materials, planting, and the architectural style of the property, all of which may inform the design direction
When back at my desk, I’ll sketch potential layouts to scale on tracing paper laid over a topographical site survey. Once I have settled on a layout, I’ll draw up the design on CAD software to ensure that the design works dimensionally.
Rachel: For the more 'event-based' elements of your work, how do you create something beautiful and sustainable within the framework of a client brief? For example, with your fashion clients, do you have any stories from the Zimmerman show about how you managed to pull off this design collaboration with Nigel Dunnett?
Alexandra: This was a fascinating project to be involved with from start to finish. We had an initial site meeting with the production company and creatives from Zimmermann about what was possible and how our intervention would complement the collection to be showcased.
Our brief was to create a jungle-inspired landscape intervention inspired by the paintings of Henri Rousseau. I very much enjoy receiving unusual or conceptual briefs, so the team’s desire to for a strange and surreal response was music to our ears and a world away from the practicalities of a residential garden.
Often the success of installations hinges on responding appropriately to the scale of the venue so that the design sits right within the surroundings.
Getting the plant quantities right is also crucial, as it’s very difficult to source more plant material at short notice once the project is on-site. In the weeks prior, days are spent visiting nurseries to assess the quantity, quality, and size of available stock. These plants are then provisionally placed on a CAD layout to ensure enough area will be covered.
The venue was the Petit Palais in Paris, a museum, so we had to work around the visiting hours to install the intervention. This meant installing overnight, starting work at 6 pm and finishing around 6 am the next day. We were lucky to have a fantastic team of contractors; we couldn’t have done it without—all in days (or nights) work.
Rachel: Can you share what happened to all of the plants after the show? Was there any plant wastage?
Alexandra: The plants were returned to the nursery from which they were sourced, aside from a small number that the Petit Palais wished to keep.
Rachel: Do you always take your references from nature, or are there other ways that you get inspired to create, and how does this look or play out for you? What are some of your favourite ways to ignite inspiration?
Alexandra: I enjoy visiting galleries for creative stimulus, as well as travelling to hike in landscapes where the vegetation is very different from what usually grows in the UK. I'm fairly old-school in that I pore through my collection of coffee table books for inspiration, and I also find Pinterest helpful for recording reference points.
Rachel: Is there such a thing as an unsustainable garden? How can we create a sustainable space in our gardens, or even in our interiors that can benefit our lives and ecosystems?
Alexandra: Very much so. My two top tips for a more environmentally friendly garden are to avoid artificial grass, as well as to avoid the use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers.
In every design that I undertake, I include plants that are pollinator-friendly. A few of my go-to choices are asters, cranesbill geraniums, foxgloves, and field scabious.
Rachel: Do you have any favourite gardens or green spaces that you love and that inspire you?
Alexandra: One of my favourite green spaces is the Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park which is visually arresting when the azaleas and rhododendrons are in flower. I also love Inner Temple Garden for its experimental approach to planting.
Further afield, I visited the Balzac Museum Garden in Paris in early September last year and was inspired by the naturalistic planting combinations.
The Plant Library in Hertfordshire is also well worth a visit, as it’s a gridded space which showcases over 1200 different plant varieties. So visitors are sure to discover something new or unfamiliar.Â
Rachel: What do you wish everyone would plant or create at home in their gardens and why?
Alexandra: I would love for everyone to create a wildflower meadow or patch – they involve less maintenance than a regular lawn and are far more aesthetically pleasing! You can even create a wildflower meadow in a single pot or trough if you rent or have limited outdoor space.
Another great addition to an outdoor space is hedging. Hedgerows are hugely beneficial as they provide habitats for wildlife and improve the air quality and aesthetic appeal of garden boundaries.
Rachel: What do you hope to achieve through your creative work in the next five to ten years?
Alexandra: Each project is a real privilege to work on, and I hope to continue designing for many more years! I’d love to take on projects in different climatic zones, as I would enjoy the challenge and research involved in incorporating plants that wouldn’t typically thrive in UK gardens.
Rachel: What are some current trends in garden and landscape design that excite you?
Alexandra: Pioneered by individuals such as John Little, there has been an exciting movement gaining traction recently, exploring planting directly into low-fertility substrates such as gravel, sand, and crushed construction waste. This approach is incredibly beneficial to the environment as it reduces the need to import topsoil and enhances biodiversity by creating new wildlife habitats.
I am also very interested in the work of Sid Hill, who experiments with the creation of edible meadows. Alongside ornamental grasses, his mixes include diverse edible perennials from around the world, allowing the meadows to be foraged for food.
Rachel: Do you have a favourite mantra or philosophy?
Alexandra: Run your own race
Rachel: Have you read anything good lately, could you recommend a something for our readers?
Alexandra: I highly recommend Dig Delve, an online magazine about gardening and cooking written by landscape designer Dan Pearson, with stunning photography by his partner, Huw Morgan, which I enjoy immensely. If you’re passionate about gardening, and landscape design, or simply enjoy beautiful writing and photography, Dig Delve is a must-read. You can sign up for their weekly emails to ensure that you don’t miss their updates!
Rachel: What’s on the Alexandra Noble stereo currently?
Alexandra: I have about 4500 liked songs on Spotify which I tend to play on shuffle! Recently I’ve been enjoying FKJ, Masego and new albums from Sinead Harnett and Bryson Tiller.
There’s also a very good playlist by Spotify called Perfect Concentration which is brilliant to have on when absolute focus is needed.
Rachel: What’s your astrology - sun, moon, rising?
Alexandra: I’m a Scorpio Sun, Leo Moon and Scorpio RisingÂ
Find out more about Alexandra Noble’s work here.
Photography credits: Rachel Warne, Eva Nemeth and Nigel Dunnett
The Land Journal Interviews
Welcome to a series of curated interviews on LAND Journals, with the handpicked people who inspire me the most. These are the individuals who have a unique perspective on life and bring something entirely new into the World. They challenge my viewpoint and rouse my thought processes, bringing an enlivening new interpretation of life, and, I’m hoping that their insights will do the same for you. These truthful conversations are important, unfiltered, and mostly unedited. So, if you haven’t already, subscribe for more deep dives into the lives of some of the most fascinating people around.
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A lovely interview