Profile

DAVID STEVENS is a familiar figure on television gardening programmes – his own six part BBC2 series, Gardens by Design and BBC1’s Gardenwise. He is a regular contributor to the Chelsea Flower Show, where he has won a total of 22 awards including 11 gold medals since 1982. He teaches garden design at the prestigious KLC College in London and worldwide, and makes regular public appearances.

David has 22 books to his credit including The RHS Garden Book with Ursula Buchan; Designing Your Ideal Garden for Frances Lincoln; The Garden Design Sourcebook and Roof Gardens, Balconies and Terraces was published in 1997 by Mitchell Beazley. His latest books are Backyard Blueprints, Small Space Gardens and The Room Outside. His book sales to date exceed one million copies. In 1993 Middlesex University appointed David Stevens to be Visiting Professor of Garden Design for its Bachelor of Arts Honours degree.

Biography

Born in 1943 in Hereford, and married with two children, David Stevens is one of the country's foremost garden designers. His company David Stevens International was launched in 1985 and is now the largest garden design practice in Europe, providing a total "design and build" package. David has been chosen as the designer by the Royal National Rose Society to create the Royal National Rose Garden, the first public memorial to Diana, Princess of Wales to be opened in 2004. This huge project will also commemorate the Gold Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen and The Centenary of the Queen Mother.

David is a familiar figure on television gardening programmes, having regularly presented on BBC Gardeners' World and TVS's That's Gardening. He has had two 6 part series of his own with BBC TV, Gardens by Design, and Gardenwise, which was shown over the summer months of 1992. He was also a regular presenter on the Radio 4 programme Growing Spaces and appears regularly on Grass Roots for Meridian.

He has written articles for virtually every gardening magazine and has contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph, He has 19 successful gardening books to his credit, including The RHS Garden Book (Conran Octopus - March 1994) with Ursula Buchan; Designing Your Ideal Garden (Frances Lincoln - spring 1994); The Garden Design Sourcebook and Roof Gardens, Balconies and Terraces which was published in spring 1997 by Mitchell Beazley. More recently Contemporary Garden Design and Contemporary Water Features were published by Conran. His latest books are Backyard Blueprints, Small Space Gardens and The Room Outside. His book sales to date have exceeded one million copies.

David's involvement with the Chelsea Flower Show began in 1972 when his first garden won the Banksian Silver Gilt Medal. Since then, David has gone on to win a total of 22 Chelsea Flower show awards including 11 gold medals since 1982 as well as the Croft Original Trophy for Best Garden in Show in 1985 and the Wilkinson Sword Trophy of Honour for Best Garden in show in 1989 and 1990, a unique achievement.

Since 1987, David has been gardening consultant for B&Q Retail, and each of his winning Chelsea gardens have been built for them. He has been awarded Best in Show, and two gold awards, at Hampton Court, a gold medal at the International Spring Gardening Show, and the premier award at BBC Gardeners' World Live Show. David has also set up a specially designed 'distance learning' package for people who wish to study garden design, but who find it difficult to devote learning time on regular basis.

In light of his exceptional experience at the Chelsea Flower Show, David was invited to advise on the launch of the Chelsea America Flower Shows and he regularly lectures throughout the USA and around the world. Middlesex University invited him to become the country's first ever 'Visiting Chair of Garden Design' for its Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Garden Design, which was conferred on him at the 1993 Chelsea Flower show. He has also been the Mayor of Buckingham.

Updated 28/02/2009