Award-winning landscape designer Tom Massey talks to House Beautiful about making the switch from animation to garden design, creating greener spaces, and his tiny courtyard garden in London. Tom will be at Chelsea Flower Show 2025, teaming up once again with architect Je Ahn for the innovative, AI-enabled Avanade Intelligent Garden.
One of my earliest memories of growing up in south-west London is of enjoying the ancient trees and grassy meadows of Richmond Park – it was like a natural playground. And during holidays on the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall, my brothers and I spent hours exploring the rockpools and clifftop paths. These experiences gave me a love of the natural world and an appreciation of its beauty and resilience.
Having studied animation at university and worked in various creative fields, at the age of 28 I realised I wanted a career that focused on my passion for nature. So, I retrained at the London College of Garden Design and then set up my own landscape gardening practice. I enjoy creating spaces that are bold and thought-provoking. My first RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden in 2018 was based on a visit to the Domiz refugee camp in northern Iraq, where many people had carved out makeshift gardens in challenging conditions. It was a humbling and inspiring experience.
In an era when climate challenges are making headlines, I’m eager to see how design can foster a deeper relationship between humanity and the natural world, so I’m thrilled to be working on a new project for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The Avanade 'Intelligent' Garden (co-designed with architect Je Ahn of Studio Weave) will show how AI technology can help trees adapt to climate challenges in some of the most demanding city settings.
Small interventions can make a big difference. Green roofs, rain gardens, wildflower verges and urban tree planting are all brilliant options for making greener, healthier, and wilder spaces. And we can all do something to contribute – my tiny courtyard garden in London has paving made from recycled rubble and construction waste, and there are raised planters filled with rescued plants from previous show gardens. I love it – it's an escape from urban life, my green hideaway.
Watch Tom’s video-podcast series T in the Garden with Tayshan Hayden-Smith and follow @tommasseyuk
