Meet this year’s RHS Young Designers

Meet this year’s RHS Young Designers: With the Royal Horticultural Society Flower Show Wentworth Woodhouse fast approaching, meet the three debut designers coming to the show and competing to be named RHS Young Designer of the Year.

RHS Wentworth Woodhouse is an event tailored for young designers and contractors under 30 years old as a means to kickstart their career.

Sam Dryell

Sam Dryell completed his undergraduate degree at University of Sheffield in architecture and landscape architecture in 2022. Returning to Sheffield to extend his landscape architecture knowledge, Dryell is half way through his two year Master’s degree, expected to finish in 2026.

A Potted History: Echoes of Rockingham is a garden inviting visitors into a living gallery reflecting the history of Rockingham Pottery. Built by Topoforma Landscape, the garden features a seating space, a water feature and a contemporary reimagining of the grand doorway to the Camellia House at Wentworth Woodhouse.

With winding pathways and vibrant planting, the garden encourages visitors to experience history that is everlasting and blooming.

The garden will be relocated to Rotherham Museums, Arts and Heritage where it will be distributed to community groups across Rotherdam’s urban parks.

“As the show approaches, I’m filled with a real sense of anticipation and excitement. Over the past six months, there has been an incredible amount of dedication, creativity, and collaboration from so many talented individuals to help bring this garden to life. It’s been a rewarding journey, and I’m truly looking forward to sharing the finished garden with the public.”

Jacopo Ducato Ruggeri

Italian-born Jacopo Ducato Ruggeri is trained as an architect, making RHS Wentworth Woodhouse his first ever garden design. Currently living in Switzerland, Ruggeri travels to the UK increasingly often for numerous RHS shows.

Currently working as an architect at ahaa in Switzerland, Ruggeri is both “excited” and “terrified” for his garden design debut.

The Dune Garden is inspired by Ruggeri’s visit to Fire Island, New York in 2023. A place for queer refuge, its historic impacts on LGBTQ+ communities include creating a sense of liberation for gay men and lesbian women specifically.

The garden intends to reflect the island’s crude erotism using the relationship between the bench and a shower, similar to watching a bathing nymph. Ruggeri has selected plants with the same genus or with similar ecological adaptations that can perform the same roles in the UK.

The bespoke furniture in the garden has been made by Brandon Thatchers, craftsmen who most recently have built the cottages in the film Wicked’s Munchkinland.

Young Designer of the Year 2024, Ashley Aylett‘s naturalistic style within her The Woodland Trust: 49% Garden also inspired the garden. Similarly, the garden will also be constructed by Evergreen Cheshire Ltd.

“I’m terrified. There’s a lot that has to come together during the build. I want to spark a conversation with the work of horticulture. It’s been a learning curve.”

Luke Coleman

Luke Coleman has been designing gardens since 2017 after founding his first soft-landscaping company based in Woking, Surrey. Since then, he has earnt a higher national diploma in garden and landscape design at the Eden Project, as well as completing a degree in garden and landscape design with horticulture at Scotland’s Rural College, University of Edinburgh

Now based at his design studio in Edinburgh, he has contributed to RHS gardens such as Tom Massey’s Resilient Garden at RHS Hampton Court 2023, and the Gold medal winning WaterAid Garden at RHS Chelsea 2024.

Drakkars Drift draws inspiration from the basalt columns of Fingal’s Cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa. The garden celebrates Scotland’s historic ties with Scandinavia while blending Nordic wellness traditions with highland elements. ‘Drakker’ refers to Viking ships with a dragon head front, linking to the arrival of Vikings in the northern Scottish isles over a thousand years ago.

Built by Ampersand Ltd, the garden features a floating wooden boardwalk, heartwood sauna, plunge pool and firepit.

“I’d say I’m feeling equally excited and nervous, but really enjoying the whole process because otherwise, what’s the point? It’s a real privilege to be working with such a generous team of people who’ve been incredibly supportive. Since I started studying garden design, creating an RHS show garden has always been a dream, so to actually be doing it now feels like a real pinch-me moment. I’m just hugely grateful for the opportunity.”

The upcoming show will take place 16 – 20 July, as the three young designers compete for this year’s Young Designer of the Year title.

For the latest industry news visit landscapingmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Landscaping Matters