Tom Stuart-Smith was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the June 2023 Birthday Honours for services to landscape design.
Stuart-Smith established his landscape design business in 1998 and since designed an impressive portfolio of large private and public gardens, set in both the countryside as well as inner city locations in the UK, Europe, North Africa, India, the US and the Caribbean.
A regular fixture on all top designer lists, some of his notable works include: Mount St John in Yorkshire, Fort Belvedere in Windsor Great Park, Granja Alnardo in Spain, Windsor Castle to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, Trentham Gardens, Le Jardin Secret in Marrakech, the Bicentenary Glasshouse at Wisley, Broughton Grange in Oxfordshire, eight Gold Medal-winning gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show (three of which awarded Best in Show), RHS Garden Bridgewater in Salford, the Hepworth Wakefield garden in West Yorkshire and his own garden at Serge Hill.
Stuart-Smith renovated the barn and surrounding fields at Serge Hill, into his new home, creating the beautiful Barn Garden which has been open annually for the National Garden Scheme for 30 years. Serge Hill has been home to four generations of his family, since his grandfather bought the estate in 1927.
Serge Hill now includes the new Plant Library, set up as part of the Serge Hill Project, the not-for profit initiative founded by Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, principled on nature’s ability to transform health and wellbeing, and was set up to foster community inclusion through gardening and other forms of creativity. The project draws on Sue’s work as a psychiatrist, psychotherapist and author of The Well Gardened Mind, as well as Tom’s horticultural expertise. The Plant Library is a unique and extensive educational resource for anyone interested in plants and planting design, be they gardeners, horticulture, garden designers or school children.
Stuart-Smith has written articles for the Financial Times, Guardian and Telegraph and is the author of two books; The Barn Garden (2011) and Drawn From the Land (2021).
“Tom received his much deserved OBE. So proud of all he has achieved”, writes Sue Stuart-Smith. A sentiment echoed throughout the horticulture industry.