Designer and broadcaster Juliet Sargeant awarded MBE for services to horticulture in King’s Birthday Honours List
Award-winning garden designer and broadcaster Juliet Sargeant has been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to horticulture in the King’s Birthday Honours List.
Juliet, a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, is one of the UK’s most respected garden designers and tutors and is a leading voice in horticulture.
Originally trained as a doctor, she changed career to study garden design and went on to build a successful practice, teach garden design and planting, and work with clients across the UK. In 2016 she became the first black woman to design a garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, winning both a RHS Gold Medal and the People’s Choice Award for her acclaimed Modern Slavery Garden.
A former chair of the Society of Garden Designers (SGD), Juliet has also presented on BBC TV Gardeners’ World and runs the Sussex Garden School near Horsham alongside her design practice.
Juliet Sargeant said: “I’m honoured to have been recognised in this way for my work in horticulture, and I’d like to thank those who nominated me.
“Horticulture is a generous industry with a heart for sharing and I’m delighted to see a new generation of professional designers and gardeners, from all walks of life, taking positions of responsibility. The sector has long faced challenges around career progression, pay and business training, as well as a lack of role models for women, people from less affluent backgrounds and people of colour.
“After winning a RHS gold medal for The Modern Slavery Garden at RHS Chelsea in 2016, I was regularly contacted by young people asking how to become a garden designer. Being the first black woman to design a show garden at Chelsea showed others that a career in garden design was possible for them too,” she added.
Juliet also highlighted the role of the SGD in raising professional standards across the sector. “The Society of Garden Designers has played a vital role in improving training and professional standards over the past few decades. I’m particularly pleased to see the organisation now pursuing chartered status, which is an important step forward for the profession.”
Reflecting on her long-standing commitment to training, she added: “I’ve been teaching garden design for 30 years and continue to be inspired by the creativity, passion and ambition for emerging designers. I am excited to see how the new generation will help horticulture play an even greater role in supporting people’s well-being and creating positive change in society.”
Juliet’s RHS show garden portfolio also includes The Lion King 25th anniversary garden for Disney and The New Blue Peter Garden: Discover Soil. She won awards from the SGD in 2012 and 2015, for sustainability and hard landscaping design. In 2017 Juliet was made a Fellow of the SGD for her contribution to garden design and horticulture, and in 2019 she was made Fellow of The Landscape Institute.
In 2016 Juliet was celebrated for her role as a change-maker and role model at the GG2 Leadership Awards. She was also one of the Evening Standard’s Progress 100 influential people. In 2018 she was named as one of the BBC 100 Women.
ENDS
For further information contact emma@emmamasonpr.co.uk 07762 117433
Instagram:
@Julietsargeant
Instagram:
@sussexgardenschool