Isabel Bannerman
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{{Short description|British garden designer and author}}Isabel Bannerman (born 14 March 1962) is a British garden designer and writer, known for her work in restoring historical gardens and creating new ones. Her portfolio features award-winning projects, including the gardens at Highgrove House, the private residence of King Charles III{{Cite web|url=https://www.nybg.org/event/2020-winter-lecture-series/the-garden-came-first-isabel-bannerman/|title=The Garden Came First: Isabel Bannerman » New York Botanical Garden|website=New York Botanical Garden}}
Awards and honours
- 1992 Europa Nostra Heritage Award for Waddesdon Manor{{Cite web |title=Isabel and Julian Bannerman's Romantic English Gardens - Garden Design |url=https://www.gardendesign.com/abroad/romantic-english-gardens.html |access-date=28 March 2023 |website=GardenDesign.com}}
- 1993 Civic Trust Award for Waddesdon Manor
- 1994 Gold Medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
- 1997 Royal Warrant awarded by the Prince of Wales{{Cite web|url=https://members.royalwarrant.org/company/i-j-bannerman-ltd?no-iframe=1|title=I & J Bannerman Ltd | Royal Warrant Holders Association|website=members.royalwarrant.org}}
- 2007 Christie's Garden of the Year Award for Houghton Hall.{{Cite web|url=https://www.historichouses.org/garden-of-the-year/past-winners-of-garden-of-the-year/|title=Past Garden of the Year Winners|website=Historic Houses|date=16 November 2022 }}
- 2008 Carpenters Guild Award for Arundel Castle Collector Earl’s Gardenhttps://woodawards.com/portfolio/the-collector-earls-garden-at-arundel-castle/
Career
After buying a semi derelict Wiltshire mansion called The Ivy and exploring their mutual passion for building restoration and garden design, Isabel and her husband Julian Bannerman were invited to join a team building a modern grotto under British sculptor Simon Verity at Leeds Castle. This led to their first major commission from Jacob Rothschild at Waddesdon Manor where they re-purposed the Dairy Buildings into an office and venue and restored the water and rock gardens at the Dairy. Their work on this project was highly acclaimed, receiving both Civic Trust and Europa Nostra awards.
The Bannerman's founded their own garden design firm, I & J Bannerman Ltd. in1991, which has since become known for its garden designs. They were commissioned to design a stumpery at Highgrove House by King Charles in the late 1990s.{{Cite web|url=https://www.1stdibs.com/introspective-magazine/isabel-and-julian-bannerman/|title=Meet the Haute Bohemians of English Garden Design|first=Audrey|last=Melick|date=20 February 2017}}
File:The Collector Earls Garden - Arundel Castle.jpg
In 1993 the Bannermans sold The Ivy and relocated to Hanham Court. There, they restored the court and established a garden open to the public.{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/property/gardening/fantasy-figures-isabel-and-julian-bannerman-reveal-their-enchanted-garden-1680102.html|title=Fantasy figures: Isabel and Julian Bannerman reveal their enchanted|date=8 May 2009|website=The Independent}}
Simon Sainsbury and Stewart Grimshaw enlisted the Bannermans in 2000 to redesign the Entrance Garden and Pleasure Grounds area, as well as enhance the Long Walk at Woolbeding House in Sussex.{{Cite web |title=History of Woolbeding Gardens│W Sussex |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/sussex/woolbeding-gardens/history-of-woolbeding-gardens |access-date=30 April 2023 |website=National Trust |language=en}}
John Robinson founder of Jigsaw later commissioned them in 2001 to design and develop the garden at Euridge Manor Farm in Wiltshire, where they also designed and built the modern medieval abbey where the garden is set. It is now a popular venue for weddings and events.{{Cite web|url=https://www.countrylife.co.uk/gardens/euridge-manor-farm-179018|title=Euridge Manor Farm, Wiltshire: A fairytale sense of fun, with a pool where rose petals gather|first=Country|last=Life|date=9 June 2018|website=Country Life}}
The Bannermans were subsequently commissioned by the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk to create "The Collector Earl’s Garden" at Arundel Castle in Sussex.{{Cite web |title=Arundel Castle |url=https://www.greatgardensoftheworld.com/gardens/arundel-castle/ |access-date=4 April 2023 |website=Great Gardens of the World |language=en-US}} Another award-winning project was their restoration of the five-acre walled garden at Houghton Hall, owned by the Marquess of Cholmondeley.{{Cite web |last=www.dewynters.com |first=Dewynters Ltd |title=Houghton Hall |url=https://www.houghtonhall.com/ |website=Houghton Hall}}
In 2010 the Bannermans completed the Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden, located in Hanover Square in the Financial District of New York City, after receiving an invitation to enter a competition to create the design.{{Cite news |last=Pollak |first=Michael |date=3 September 2010 |title=Questions About New York |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/nyregion/05FYI.html |via=NYTimes.com}} The garden commemorates the 67 British victims of the 11 September 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. Queen Elizabeth II attended the opening on 6 July 2010.{{Cite web |title=The Queen Elizabeth II Garden |url=https://queenelizabethgarden.org/}}
The couple then moved on to Trematon Castle in 2012, leased from the Duchy of Cornwall, where they created another garden that featured a medieval keep.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/t-magazine/design/isabel-julian-bannerman-garden-designer-cornwall-norman-castle.html|title=A Garden Sanctuary of Medieval Magic|first=Tim|last=Richardson|work=The New York Times |date=23 September 2016|via=NYTimes.com}} The duo also designed the garden at Wormsley Park, Buckinghamshire for John Paul Getty II and have played a major role in redesigning the gardens of Dumfries House in Ayrshire.{{Cite web |date=4 October 2018 |title=Peter Copping Visits the Country Estate Prince Charles Revived |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/dumfries-house-prince-charles-peter-copping-visit |access-date=4 April 2023 |website=Architectural Digest |language=en-US}}
The Bannermans moved to Ashington Manor in Somerset in 2019, where they are renovating and enhancing the property with a newly established garden and orchards.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardens-to-visit/owners-ashington-manor-transformed-extensive-gardens-lockdown/|title=How the owners of Ashington Manor transformed its extensive gardens during lockdown|first=Caroline|last=Donald|newspaper=The Telegraph |date=27 June 2020|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}
Throughout the years of their career Isabel and Julian have been invited to participate as speakers in various gardening and literary festivals, including The Chalke Valley History Festival,{{Cite web |title=Speakers |url=https://programme.cvhf.org.uk/speaker/ |access-date=13 June 2023 |website=programme.cvhf.org.uk}} The Garden Museum Literary Festival,{{Cite web |date=23 June 2023 |title=Garden Museum Literary Festival 2023 |url=https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/events/garden-museum-literary-festival-2023/ |access-date=13 June 2023 |website=Garden Museum |language=en-GB}} Charleston Festival of the Garden,{{Cite web |title=Charleston — Festival of the Garden, full programme revealed, 13–16 July 2023 |url=https://www.charleston.org.uk/press/festival-of-the-garden-full-programme-revealed-13-16-july-2023/ |access-date=13 June 2023 |website=Charleston}} Dartington Hall Ways with Words{{Cite web |last=Week |first=the Devon |date=19 June 2017 |title=Devon links to Ways With Words literary fest at Dartington Hall |url=https://thedevonweek.newsandmediarepublic.org/2017/06/19/devon-links-to-ways-with-words-literary-fest-at-dartington-hall/ |access-date=13 June 2023 |website=the Devon Week |language=en-GB}} and at the New York Botanical Garden.{{Cite web |title=The Garden Came First: Isabel Bannerman - Continuing Education at the New York Botanical Garden |url=https://www.enrole.com/nybg/jsp/session.jsp?sessionId=203GAR801C&courseId=202GAR801C&categoryId=3DC981E0 |access-date=13 June 2023 |website=www.enrole.com}}
Publications
Isabel Bannerman is also a published author, having co-written several books with her husband Julian, including "Landscape of Dreams: The Gardens of Isabel and Julian Bannerman" (2016) which features a foreword from the then HRH Prince of Wales {{Cite web |title=Landscape of Dreams: The Gardens of Isabel and Julian Bannerman – Waddesdon Manor |url=https://waddesdon.org.uk/product/landscape-dreams-gardens-isabel-julian-bannerman/ |access-date=25 March 2023 |website=waddesdon.org.uk |language=en-GB}} followed by Scent Magic: Notes from a Gardener (2019){{Cite news |last=Donald |first=Caroline |title=The Sunday Times best gardening books of the year 2019 |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/wildlife-nature/article/sunday-times-best-gardening-books-2019-p00sxd3qx |access-date=4 April 2023 |issn=0140-0460}} and "Husbandry: Making Gardens with Mr. B" (2021).{{Cite web|url=https://www.gardensillustrated.com/garden-equipment/gardening-books/husbandry-making-gardens-with-mr-b/|title=Husbandry: Making Gardens with Mr B – book review|website=Gardens Illustrated|date=11 October 2022 }} All three books were featured in The Sunday Times ‘Gardening Books of the Year’ list {{Cite news |last=Thame |first=Rachel De |title=10 best gardening books of 2022 |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/best-gardening-books-2022-cq7hm0z9h |access-date=4 April 2023 |issn=0140-0460}}{{Cite news |last=Thame |first=Rachel de |title=10 best gardening books 2021 |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/best-gardening-books-2021-9snlvp979 |access-date=4 April 2023 |issn=0140-0460}}
Isabel has shared her expertise on gardening and the sensory experience of smell through various channels. Her insightful writings and podcasts have graced publications such as The Telegraph,{{Cite web |date=24 July 2022 |title=Isabel Bannerman |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/i/ip-it/isabel-bannerman/ |access-date=13 June 2023 |website=The Telegraph |language=en}} The Sunday Times, Gardens Illustrated,{{Cite web |title=The enchanted gardens of Mothecombe House |url=https://www.gardensillustrated.com/gardens/country/the-enchanted-gardens-of-mothercombe-house/ |access-date=13 June 2023 |website=Gardens Illustrated |language=en}} and House and Garden Magazine.{{Cite web |date=20 April 2020 |title=Isabel Bannerman on the evocative pleasure of scented plants |url=https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/isabel-bannerman-scent-magic |access-date=13 June 2023 |website=House & Garden |language=en-GB}}
Personal life
Isabel grew up in London. She met Julian in Edinburgh, Scotland where she was studying history and history of art at Edinburgh University. They have lived in several historical properties throughout their career, including Hanham Court near Bristol, Trematon Castle in Cornwall, and Ashington Manor in Somerset.