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Claire MacArthur Landscape Designer

@studio_macarthur

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🌿The Beginner Again

@inchbaldschoolofdesign

On Friday, we took our garden designs off the drawing board and into @batterseaparklondon, marking them out at full scale for the first time.

After weeks of developing plans and building models, I thought I understood my design. Walking through it was a revelation.

For the first time I could experience the garden as a client would. The proportions felt a little different, paths revealed themselves in new ways and spaces that seemed to work perfectly on paper suddenly felt either too large or too small or simply not quite right.

Needless to say I have made a few amendments, including redesigning the garden steps and creating a new border.

My biggest lesson? No drawing or model can fully replace physically experiencing a space. Until I walked through it, I couldn’t truly visualise how it would feel to move around the garden.

Good design is rarely about getting it right the first time. It’s about testing, refining and learning with every iteration- all part of the process.

So a huge thank you to Andrew @andrewduffgardendesign Claire @studio_macarthur & TJ @tjkennedy_design for their guidance throughout the process and encouraging us to test, question and refine our ideas.

Another lesson learned. Another step forward.

Every week this course reminds me that good design is rarely a straight line

P.S. Gab you really were an excellent stand in for a tree! 🌴

#thebeginneragain #gardendesign #designprocess #learningjourney

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Thanks Claire!
For really observing what I couldn’t see in the moment and helping me understand:
Keeping too many possibilities open kept jamming my brain. Even if one is not sure (which happens when one learns a new skill): Commit! And everything else follows.

It’s an exercise in letting go.

Photo credit: Annika @placemakingavb

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From “The Elite”

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After an incredible year of learning all things design and listening to a lot of Radio 6 in the studio, my time at Inchbald has wrapped up.

A massive thanks to TJ, Claire and Andrew.
Here are a few of my fav drawings.

Some exciting things in the pipeline…

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One year of studying garden design and very happy with the decision to do this at the old @inchbaldschoolofdesign

I was so lucky to meet my fellow students! They made an already good course nothing short of the best experience ever!
@sineadread
@cassgardendesign
Annika @placemakingavb
@carolineraogardendesign
Sarah

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2 days and 1 night: 1 amazing evening with the incredible @studio_macarthur learning all things soil & SO much more... 2 meetings, 20 windowboxes, 15 gardens, 1 visit to Market, 4 shopfronts, 3 new irrigation systems, 10 bags of soil & 150 plants!!!! Some of these gardens I started from scratch & love getting client feedback! V honoured to be doing this!! Not enough pics to do it justice!!! Thanks to the amazing @drozd.renata who keeps me fuelled up in every way❤️

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What an amazing evening we had with the wonderful Claire MacArthur @studio_macarthur in the house as she took us on a deep dive into soil and how it is an ecosystem in its own right. We learnt all about mycorrhizal fungi, the communication network they have established and how those networks are used to nutrient cycle trees and plants that are in distress. They are the ‘internet’ of the plant world.

What do you think constitutes a beautiful garden? Diversity of flowers and planting, the feeling of ‘prospect and refuge’, the pollinators, structure through trees and evergreen planting and perhaps ‘borrowing the landscape’ if it is a rather large garden. You would be correct in thinking all those things but what truly makes a garden beautiful is the soil that it is planted in. If we have healthy living soil, then everything we plant in it will grow, thrive and require minimal intervention. Healthy plants vibrate at frequencies that don’t attract disease and pests. Slugs it seems, didn’t get that memo!

Thank you to Josephine @josephine_susman_design , Fiona, Brigitte @inthegreengd , Eren @ernbck , Jen @flowgardeners , Maïtanne @maitannehunt , Kim, Emma @emmamachalegardendesign , Anjali @bhallaanjali , and John @johnpaulwilmer for attending the Masterclass, it would not have been possible without you. Until the next one…

#studiomacarthur #soil #resilientlandscape #soilhealth #masterclass

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Join us for an intimate evening of learning at a masterclass with the fabulous Claire MacArthur @studio_macarthur Landscape Designer and Design Tutor at the Inchbald School of Design @inchbaldschoolofdesign as she takes us through the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ behind a soil-first approach — from excavation and compaction management during construction, to planting design and post-construction soil care and establishment.

If you are interested please DM me for further details. Places are limited. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Photograph credit @hannahlovemore_

#studiomacarthur #soil #resilientlandscape #soilhealth #masterclass

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Mystified by the science surrounding soil? Come to a masterclass with the talented Claire MacArthur @studio_macarthur Landscape Designer and Design Tutor at the Inchbald School of Design @inchbaldschoolofdesign where she demystifies the science for us. Through various project case studies she will also show us construction techniques, soil handling methodologies and specification strategies that enable gardens to retain water more effectively, support long-term plant health and reduce reliance on hard-engineered drainage solutions.

If you are interested please DM me for further details. Places are limited. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Photograph credit @hannahlovemore_

#studiomacarthur #soil #resilientlandscape #soilhealth #masterclass

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Join us for the second masterclass in our Soil Series as we dig deeper (pardon the pun!) into how a soil led approach can help landscapes and domestic gardens withstand the growing pressures of climate change with the wonderful and knowledgeable Claire MacArthur @studio_macarthur Landscape Designer and Design Tutor at the Inchbald School of Design @inchbaldschoolofdesign . Through this masterclass we will explore the opportunities that heavier rainfall, longer periods of drought and increasing weather extremes can offer as well as examining how healthy, well structured soils form the foundation of beautiful landscapes by ensuring they have built-in resilience.

Claire is an award winning designer, having designed the planting for gardens as part of the team alongside interior designers Nicola Harding and Co and the sponsor Big Green Egg at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2013 for which they won ‘Best in Show’ in their category and then Gold in their category in both 2014 and 2016. In 2023, Claire completed the Advanced Soil Course organised by the Land Gardeners @thelandgardeners with leading agroecologist and soil expert Nicole Masters @masters.nicole (Integrity Soils), and has used soil science as the basis of all her landscape projects, large and small, ever since.

If you are interested please DM me for further details. Places are limited. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Photograph credit @hannahlovemore_

#studiomacarthur #soil #resilientlandscape #soilhealth #masterclass

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Nature moments & shenanigans 👏🏾

The last few months have been full of blessings, challenges and most importantly…GROWTH.

Today I turn 26! I’m so proud of myself for everything I’ve done so far. Trying to find your feet in this type of work isn’t easy but I’m making it happen!

Big up to everyone I’ve met so far, I feel eternally blessed to be part of a flourishing community of diverse, creative, passionate and impactful beings.

I love what I do and can’t wait for what this next chapter of life brings🫡

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