British garden designer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Matt James (born 27 April 1975 in Essex)[1][2] is a British garden designer, horticulturist and university lecturer who rose to fame on the Channel 4's The City Gardener.[3][4][5][2]
Matt James | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 April 1975 Essex, England |
| Education | Merrist Wood College Writtle College |
| Occupation(s) | Garden designer Horticulturist Lecturer |
| Known for | The City Gardener |
| Website | Official website |
James was born 27 April 1975 in Essex, the older of two sons.[3][1] He credits his mother with "creating in [him] an awareness of and love for plants."[1] He attended secondary school in Sutton, London and worked at a local market garden after leaving school.[1][4] He received a diploma in plant production and garden centers from Merrist Wood College in 1996, followed by a year at a nursery in Somerset and a degree in horticulture from Writtle College.[4][6][2][7]
James hosted The City Gardener on Channel 4 between 2002[4] and 2005, followed by an American version called Urban Outsiders on HGTV.[citation needed] He subsequently hosted UKTV's Matt James' Eco Eden[8] and was gardening expert on Selling Houses.[4][2] He also appeared on an episode of Great British Garden Revivalin 2014.[9][4] In 2011, James joined the Gardenline panel on BBC and guested on Gardeners' Question Time.[6]
James taught horticulture and landscape design courses at Duchy College and North East Surrey College of Technology,[7][6] followed by five years at University College Falmouth starting in 2008.[1][6][10] He later created[citation needed] the landscape design programme at the Eden Project, where he taught between 2014 and 2021.[11][10][12]
Since 2018, James has run a landscape design firm, James+Cook Landscapes, in Cornwall with fellow Eden Project lecturer Polly Cook.[10][11][12] He has also written for numerous publications about gardening and garden design including The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times, The Garden and the Garden Design Journal.[citation needed] James was chosen as Londoner-of-the-Year in the Environment and Regeneration category in 2000 after helping establish a farmers' market in South London.[4][7] He has also won two gold awards at the annual California Landscape Contractors' Association Awards.[citation needed]
James lives in Cornwall with his wife Ellie and their children.[4][1][13]
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