Student of the month: Barry Grainger

The award of Student of the Month for April goes to Barry Grainger for his work on the Diploma in Professional Garden Design at the National Design Academy.

Barry is always enthusiastic about his studies and has exceptional drawing skills. He also combines his studies with a very demanding full-time career that frequently takes him overseas. This is not always easy to achieve but Barry always manages to deliver high-quality work that clearly demonstrates his passion for the subject.

Let us know a little bit more about Barry.

Barry Grainger is currently the Head of Design, responsible for men and women’s apparel at Timberland, based in London. He has been involved in the fashion industry for over 25 years having first studied in Bournemouth and then concluding his Masters degree in Menswear at the Royal College of Art.

He was first interested in Garden Design as a young student and worked the summers and holidays as a gardener or ‘landscape gardener’ as it was known back then. He really became interested in Garden Design whilst studying at the Royal College. He attended his first Chelsea flower show in 2000, which opened his mind to the world of gardens and design applications in the landscape.

His favourite garden designers are Tom Stuart Smith, Cleve West and Andy Sturgeon. Chelsea is the highlight of the year for him and is always the first thing to go in the Diary on January the 1st. Days out usually revolve around visits to gardens and, unfortunately for his young family, they have to endure them too. Although he loves his job and the fashion industry (sometimes) his true passion is in plants, trees and hard landscaping.

See below some examples of Barry’s work.

Well done to you Barry for maintaining your high standards under pressure.

If you are interested in studying a Diploma in Professional Garden Design or any of our other design courses, then please visit our course page to find out more information. Alternatively, email us at admissions@nda.ac.uk or call us on +44(0)1159 123 412.