Founded in Brighton, in 2002
Now over 20 years old, Ben MacDonald Gardens was founded by Ben MacDonald and his partner Maxine List.
Since advertising his services in the local newsagent at the relatively tender age of 12, Ben has been involved in the design, build, planting, and upkeep of English gardens for his entire working life. Initially a trained tree surgeon, he qualified in garden design and construction in 1994, and spent the next eight years working under the likes of Rupert Golby, Rosemary Verey, and Roger Platts, before joining forces with Maxine and setting up on his own in 2002.
Known for its sustainable design principles, Ben MacDonald Gardens has since gone on to establish itself as one of southeast England’s leading English garden designers.
For more on how it works, see our approach to the design, build, planting, and maintenance of English gardens. For examples of our work, see a selection of projects, past and present.
Meet the team
Ben MacDonald Gardens consists of a core team of five (see below), which is supplemented – depending on a given project’s needs – by experienced freelance gardeners and third party developers, architects, and engineers.
Ben MacDonald
Co-founder and owner, Ben heads up the garden design, planting and maintenance side of the business. He has an HND in Garden Design & Management, a National Diploma in Landscape & Construction, a National Certificate in Arboriculture, and trained under the likes of Rosemary Verey, Roger Platts, Rupert Golby, and Stephen Woodhams.
Maxine List
Co-founder and business owner, Maxine List manages the business’s garden maintenance on a day-to-day basis, including client liaison, logistics, and planning around the gardening year. She trained under Stephen Woodhams, helped run a flower event company, and is also a qualified primary school teacher with 11 years’ experience.
Francesco Fassari
Head gardener Francesco (Cicco) has 25 years’ experience in garden maintenance, trained in Italy, has an HND in Garden Management and plant care, and has worked for Ben MacDonald Gardens for over a decade. Highly knowledgeable and experienced, he’s our resident expert in olive and fruit tree pruning.
George Glykiotis
Having worked with the company in garden maintenance for nearly a decade, George is one of our most skilled gardeners, and is much appreciated by clients for border management, plant knowledge, irrigation knowhow, and woodwork. A master of many a trade, George can put his hand to just about anything.
Hamish Brown
Hamish joined us just over three years ago as a maintenance gardener, and has quickly become highly adept at border, machine, and turf management. As well as this, he is fast becoming our social media guru, his understanding of the utility of Instagram adding much value to the marketing department.
"A tiny town courtyard or a windy balcony are as interesting to work on as a set of beautiful acres."
Ben MacDonald, English garden designer and plantsman.