Sheena Vernon

For Sheena Vernon, garden design is a second career. She qualified at Merrist Wood Horticulural College in Surrey, several years as a professional gardener. When she moved to Dublin with her family, in 2000, her client base widened and she now has a very busy practise designing and implementing gardens that range from pocket hankerchiefs to rolling acres surrounding newly constructed mansions. She loves the individual and eclectic tastes of her clients and believes that because Ireland has no very strong tradition of gardening people are remarkably free and unhindered by tradition. Her work encompasses all parts of Dublin and neighbouring counties. She is a retained designer with the Tobermore paving company, (in this capacity, in addition to private gardens, she does paving layouts for housing developers, town planners and garden centres) and has done several show gardens including a patio garden for the first Bloom show, winning a gold medal. Garden design, she believes, as well as being imaginative and creative, has to be practical. It should be a first step for clients looking for a plan of action, a drawing that a contractor to quote from, and help in understanding the cost and maintenance implications of different design approaches. She is an approved lecturer with the RHSI and speaks frequently at garden societies.