Sustainable garden scores hat-trick for Nathan

Talented University Centre Reaseheath alumnus Nathan Webster has taken three top awards for his show garden Off the Grid at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park 2023.

Nathan, 24, who began his five year Reaseheath Journey on our Level 3 Extended Diploma in Horticulture and progressed onto our BSc (Hons) Landscape Architecture, was awarded Best Young Designer Garden and Best Construction for a Young Designer Garden, along with a gold medal, in the prestigious RHS Young Designer of the Year category.

The Young Designer awards are open to entrants aged 28 and under and recognise the talent of next generation garden designers and landscapers.

Nathan’s pared back woodland design, built by Wright Landscapes, for whom he works as lead landscape architect, responds to a brief from a busy working client who wants to spend weekends in a forest atmosphere embracing all aspects of sustainable living.

The scheme features a forest cabin offering living space which includes a kitchen, outdoor and indoor showers, an electric bike rack with charging point, solar panels, rainwater recycling and a borehole pump. Outside are a fire pit cooking station, an outdoor dining area and vegetable planters.

Central to the design are Nathan’s own passion for nature and the outdoors and his keenness to use an existing environment to its full potential. Show judges were impressed with his use of renewable energy and sustainable materials and to his emphasis on nature conservation for both now and the future, achieved by working closely with Forestry England.

Describing his RHS Tatton success as his ‘biggest achievement by far’, Nathan said: “I learned all the key principals for my career at college and then in more depth at UCR. I gained skills for my future life and confidence in my own ability. Being part of the student design and build team for Reaseheath’s own show gardens at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park was great experience and set me up for the path I’m following now.”

Nathan graduated in 2020 and now has his own design department and a growing list of high end private clients. His previous awards include British Association of Landscape Industries award 2019 and Pro Landscaper’s 30 Under 30: The Next Generation 2021.

Watch BBC Gardeners World from RHS Flower Show Tatton Park, 7pm Friday 21 July, to see Nathan’s garden

Study Landscape Architecture at UCR

As a landscape architecture undergraduate you’ll gain the insights and experience to understand client briefs and how to manage inspiring yet sustainable landscapes ranging from expansive cityscapes to urban parks and wildlife habitats.

Nathan's show garden

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