What Tom Stuart-Smith Studio does

Tom Stuart-Smith Studio is a UK-based landscape design practice founded in 1998 by Tom Stuart-Smith and legally constituted as Tom Stuart-Smith Ltd. The firm operates as a medium-sized team of 11-50 landscape architects and designers based at The Dairy Studio on Sergehill Lane in Bedmond, Abbots Langley, where it also maintains the Barn Garden and the Plant Library, an educational resource of over 2,000 herbaceous plant varieties laid out on a grid system. The studio creates gardens and landscapes spanning large public parks and institutional gardens, private residential estates in urban and countryside settings, RHS flower show exhibition gardens, wellbeing/therapeutic gardens, and commercial roof terraces.

Revenue is generated through professional design fees on commissioned projects, with no public disclosure of pricing for design services. Customer segments include wealthy private estate owners, public sector and cultural institutions, healthcare charities, and corporate clients; notable engagements include Windsor Castle, Chatsworth, Aldourie Castle, Knepp Castle, RHS Bridgewater, Hepworth Wakefield, Tate Britain (forthcoming Clore Garden in 2027), Horatio's Garden, and the Beijing Expo 2019. Go-to-market is predominantly reputation- and referral-driven, reinforced by competitive participation in RHS Chelsea, Hampton Court, Badminton, and Wisley shows, plus international shows including Giardina.

Adjacent revenue lines include paid visits to the Barn Garden and Plant Library (priced at £15-66 per person for guided group tours), with proceeds directed to The Serge Hill Project, a separate not-for-profit Community Interest Company founded by Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith that delivers community programmes on natural-world access. The studio has no disclosed external investors, parent company, or institutional funding, and Tom Stuart-Smith remains closely involved with each project as the firm's principal creative director.

Name

Tom Stuart-Smith Studio

Legal name

Tom Stuart-Smith Ltd

Website

https://tomstuartsmith.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tom Stuart-Smith Studio is a UK-based, founder-led landscape design practice established in 1998 that creates public parks, private estates, RHS flower show gardens, and therapeutic landscapes for wealthy individuals, cultural institutions, and charities across the UK, Europe, and select international markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Landscape Architecture Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (541320)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Residential Landscape Design (HSAIABAA)

Keywords

• Landscape architecture
• Garden design
• Planting design
• Public gardens
• Private estate design

Headquarters

HQ city

Abbots Langley

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Landscape Design Services: The studio provides landscape design services for gardens and parks. Work ranges from large public gardens and parks to private gardens. Revenue is generated through professional design fees for commissioned garden and landscape design projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Tom Stuart-Smith Studio provides professional landscape design services, creating public and private gardens that combine naturalism and modernity. Work ranges from large public parks and institutional gardens (RHS Bridgewater, Regent's Park, Hepworth Wakefield) to private residential and estate gardens (Windsor Castle, Chatsworth, Aldourie Castle), as well as RHS Chelsea Flower Show exhibition gardens, therapeutic/wellbeing gardens, and urban roof gardens.

Product overview

Tom Stuart-Smith Studio is a landscape design practice offering garden design services across multiple categories: public parks and gardens open to the public, private residential gardens (urban and countryside), RHS Chelsea Flower Show exhibition gardens, wellbeing/therapeutic gardens, and roof gardens. The studio was established in 1998 and has designed twelve gardens for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, all of which received gold medals. The practice operates The Barn Garden and Plant Library at Serge Hill as educational resources, and supports The Serge Hill Project, a not-for-profit Community Interest Company. A published book titled 'Tom Stuart-Smith: Drawn from the Land' provides an overview of the studio's work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Serge Hill Project: A not-for-profit Community Interest Company founded by Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, providing resources and programmes for local schools, charities and community groups, especially those who have the least access to the natural world.

Products and services

• Landscape Design Services Commissioned landscape design services for public and private gardens, ranging from large public parks and institutional landscapes to private residential gardens in the UK, Europe, and internationally.
• Public Garden Design Design of large public gardens and parks open to the public, including RHS Bridgewater, RHS Wisley, Regent's Park, Hepworth Wakefield, and IGA Berlin 2017.
• Private Garden Design Design of private residential gardens in urban and countryside settings across the UK, Europe, and internationally, including Windsor Castle, Chatsworth, Aldourie Castle, Knepp Castle, and gardens in Massachusetts, Kerala, Caribbean, and Mallorca.
• RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gardens Show garden designs for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show; the studio has designed twelve such gardens, with ten judged entries receiving gold medals and three receiving Best in Show.
• Roof Garden Design Design of urban rooftop and terrace gardens for commercial and residential clients, including 25 Cannon Street Roof Garden, 4 Cannon Street Roof Terrace, and 41 Lothbury.
• Wellbeing Garden Design Design of therapeutic and wellbeing gardens for healthcare charities, including Horatio's Garden London & South East for spinal cord injured people and their families.
• Barn Garden and Plant Library Group Visits Ticketed fully guided private group visits to the Barn Garden and Plant Library at Serge Hill, lasting approximately two hours, plus shorter Serge Hill Garden visits, with all proceeds going to The Serge Hill Project.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10 out of 10 RHS Chelsea Flower Show gardens received gold medals (where judged)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Tate BritaincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Tate Britain commissioned Tom Stuart-Smith to design their first show garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026. The garden will feature Dame Barbara Hepworth's sculpture Bicentric Form as centrepiece and will be relocated to Tate Britain's Millbank site after the exhibition. It serves as a preview of the forthcoming Clore Garden opening in 2027.
• The Serge Hill ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA not-for-profit Community Interest Company founded by Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, based in the Orchard at Serge Hill. The project provides resources and programmes for local schools, charities and community groups, especially those who have the least access to the natural world. All proceeds from visits to the Barn Garden and Plant Library go directly to The Serge Hill Project.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• OLIN: International landscape architecture, urban design, and planning practice based in the US. Works on cultural institutions, parks, and estates at a premium tier but as a broader, multi-disciplinary incumbent rather than a boutique garden-focused studio.
• West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture: Established Dutch landscape architecture and urban design firm with international public realm projects. Comparable in design philosophy and international reach, but much larger and broader in scope than the subject studio.
• James Corner Field Operations: Larger international landscape architecture firm known for major urban public realm projects (High Line, etc.). Operates broadly in the same landscape architecture space but at significantly larger scale and with broader portfolio than Tom Stuart-Smith's boutique practice.
• Hargreaves Associates: US landscape architecture practice known for large-scale public parks and urban design. Comparable in working with public institutions and cultural clients, but at a much larger scale and broader portfolio than a boutique garden design firm.

Direct peers

• Piet Oudolf: Dutch garden designer and planting design practice, internationally renowned for naturalistic perennial planting and high-profile public projects (e.g., High Line, Lurie Garden). Closely aligned philosophy of naturalism and modernity, serving a comparable premium public/private clientele.
• Arne Maynard Garden Design: UK-based garden design practice with a similar boutique, high-end focus on private estates and country gardens. Overlapping client base and design sensibility make it a direct comparable in the premium UK landscape design market.
• Dan Pearson Studio: UK-based landscape design practice known for naturalistic, ecologically driven gardens. Directly comparable as a boutique, founder-led studio operating at the same premium tier with high-profile RHS Chelsea presence and private/public commissions.
• Arabella Lennox-Boyd: UK-based garden designer with an international practice spanning private estates and show gardens. Operates in the same boutique, premium segment and frequently exhibits at RHS Chelsea.
• Luciano Giubbilei: Italian-born, London-based garden designer with a boutique studio and a comparable portfolio of RHS Chelsea gold medals, private estates, and international projects.
• Sarah Price Gardens: UK garden designer with RHS Chelsea presence and a comparable focus on naturalistic planting design for private and public commissions. Direct competitor in the boutique UK landscape design segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/tomstuartsmith

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tom Stuart-Smith Studio