LANDSCAPE CREATOR

Alistair Baldwin is an internationally renowned landscape architect and garden designer based in North Yorkshire. His practice near Ripon, AWB Associates, delivers high spec public and private gardens and he has also spent 13 years delivering courses and lectures throughout the UK and the world. Passionate about his northern base, Alistair taught at Leeds Beckett University and has built a reputation for nurturing the talent of the future. We take a look at some of his amazing projects, in Yorkshire and further north, which Alistair describes.

@awbassociates

The Yorkshire School of Garden Design

The YSGD launched in July 2022 and was born out of my passion to create a school based in the north of England. Our flagship and professional diploma courses and programme of short courses are delivered across the year from our base at Grade I listed Harewood House, between Leeds and Harrogate. I present all courses with a team of talented professional designers, horticulturalists, architects, landscapers and artists.

Tunstall Grange, North Yorkshire

Photography by Ray Cox

We were tasked with creating a country garden of soft, seasonal textures, with far-reaching views to the North Yorkshire horizon, as the setting for a large new country house.

Kinross House, Scotland

Photography by Ray Cox

This project saw the restoration of a 10-acre 17th century walled garden, in the setting of one of Scotland’s most important classical houses, Kinross House. We re-applied the classical proportions of the original 17th century plan by architect William Bruce and overlaid a contemporary layer of soft grasses and perennials, while opening up views to Loch Leven and Leven Castle.

Grantley Hall, North Yorkshire

To begin the project, we provided master-planning services to convert this stunning country house into a luxury hotel, spa and wedding venue. Following its sale, we were tasked with creating new gardens directly in front of the hotel as well as to restoring the wonderful Japanese strolling garden around the new restaurant and wedding venue. The new gardens to the east front are a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Edwardian flower garden, arranged on two historic axes and including an 80m long rill and steel seating Arbor.

Our brief was to create an extravaganza of roses in this public garden, to which we introduced layers of grasses and perennials to extend the flowering season and attract bird and insect species into the garden. The team worked with David Austin Roses to introduce over 3,000 roses from shrub, climber and wild to groundcover and ramblers.

I was tasked with restoring the 30 acre grounds of the Grade II Listed Bowcliffe Hall, the former home of British aviation pioneer Robert Blackburn. It is now an exclusive events venue and heritage office park. I reinterpreted the notion of the Edwardian flower garden and re-introduced a major new glasshouse, working closely with greenhouse specialist, Alitex. New flower gardens and walks now give event attendees and office workers contact with nature, colour and seasonality.

Bridge Farm, North Yorkshire

Photography by Alistair Baldwin

The team and I began by planting up the setting to this elevated North Yorkshire former farm at the head of a windy valley. We used bold drifts of grasses and perennials to clothe the land, intersected by feature steps.

www.alistairwbaldwin.co.uk https://ysgd.co.uk/