Mark Draper

Mark studied Horticulture & Garden Design at Merrist Wood College, joining Graduate Gardeners for his middle year.

He graduated with distinction and rejoined Graduate Gardeners over 30 years ago, working out on site gaining valuable experience building gardens. Mark quickly rose to the position of Foreman and ran many large and complicated jobs, before moving into the design office.

Mark has designed three Gold Medal and Best in Show Gardens At The Malvern Spring Flower Show, firstly with his ‘Chic City Space’ contemporary town garden in black slate, secondly with his ‘Youth of Old Age’ more traditional country garden, featuring Cotswold stone walling and York stone paving, and thirdly with his ‘Bringing Nature Home’ garden, demonstrating how a modern garden close to the house can drift, via cleverly placed screens, into a more naturalistic wildflower meadow and then into the countryside beyond.

Mark designs gardens from Contemporary to ‘Country House’ style. He has also designed and managed projects which have won nineteen BALI Awards for Design and Build, Construction and Best Use of Lighting, in gardens ranging from £30,000 to over £1,500,000.

He is a hugely knowledgeable plantsman and his planting style is always varied and interspersed with cleverly placed surprises.

In his spare time, he is a keen runner, and, when not at home with his wife and two daughters, he is to be found running all over the hills of the Stroud Valleys and beyond.