PROFILE

For the last twenty six years Portia Baker has worked on a wide variety of projects, both public and private. After ten years running a London-based garden design business, she completed a BA (Hons) and a Masters degree in Landscape Architecture. Since then her focus has been on the public sector, designing, restoring and planting public parks and open spaces. She has worked as Landscape Architect, Clerk of Works and Project Manager on numerous award-winning projects for the London Boroughs of Camden and Richmond upon Thames. These include the £1m  restoration of Terrace Gardens in Richmond and the £3m restoration of Waterlow Park in Highgate, as well as many other borough-wide projects for Richmond Council.

Portia has a particular interest in sustainable planting in a changing climate with reduced resources. As she says: "My aim as a landscape architect is to design and create beautiful places where people can come and connect with nature. Whether urban or rural, large or small, private garden or public park, these are places which refresh our spirit and restore our sense of well being."

Increasingly interested in the role trees can play in the urban environment, in 2018 she achieved the Diploma in Arboriculture (Level 4).

PUBLIC PARKS

Restoration of Terrace Gardens, Richmond

Terrace Gardens is a 10 acre Grade II listed Victorian park, located between Richmond Hill and the River Thames in South West London.

This £1million restoration project transformed Terrace Gardens, which had been in decline for many years. Extensive hard and soft landscaping improvements were carried out, including the construction of steps, paving, ramps and dry stone walls, repairs to paths and refurbishment of the park's furniture and ornaments. Large areas of the Gardens were re-planted, a wildlife area with nature conservation features was established and spectacular views of the River Thames were opened up. Portia worked as sole Landscape Architect and Project Manager for the council funded scheme.

Terrace Gardens won the following industry awards:

Royal Horticultural Society's London in Bloom "Best Public Park or Garden" Gold award and category winner 2009
BALI - "Best Soft Landscaping over 1 hectare" Gold award and category winner 2009
BALI - "Maintenance of Public Park" Winner 2009
BALI - Portia collected the award for Designer of the best soft landscaping scheme over 1 hectare, 2009

Terrace Gardens has continued to win awards since its completion in 2009.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Restoration of Waterlow Park, Highgate

Waterlow Park is a 29 acre Victorian park adjacent to Highgate Hill in North London.

The £3 million Heritage Lottery Funded project included a change of layout to the Grade II listed formal terraced gardens, renovation of all paths and paved areas, re-building of historic listed walls, major improvements to the park's three large ponds, restoration of listed features and artefacts, extensive areas of new planting and the creation of a wildlife area for children's education. Portia worked variously as Landscape Architect, Clerk of Works and Project Manager on the scheme.

Waterlow Park won the following industry awards:

Royal Horticultural Society's London in Bloom "Best Restoration Project" Gold award and category winner 2006
RIBA Regional Award Winner Conservation category 2006

Areas of her planting featured in 'Parks, People and Nature: A guide to enhancing natural habitats in London's parks and green spaces in a changing climate', a joint publication by the Mayor of London and Natural England.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Champions Wharf, Twickenham

Portia re-designed Champions Wharf, which is located at the Eastern end of Twickenham Embankment, in 2015. Richmond Council worked with Poet in the City, who produced a corten steel Urn sculpture to celebrate Alexander Pope, poet and local resident. Landscape work included new granite paving, bespoke seating inscribed with Pope's poetry, as well as tree and perennial planting. Work was completed in September 2015, in time for the Rugby World Cup which was hosted by Richmond.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Cumberland Market, Camden

This small urban park behind Euston station was re-designed in 2006 to make it more attractive and accessible to the local community. The planting was designed to provide a profusion of low maintenance, but colourful flowering plants. The flowers reach their peak in summer and autumn to coincide with school holidays and an annual local festival held in the park. The project was used as an experiment in resource reduction so the planting had to be suitable for the challenging site conditions, brightly coloured with a long flowering season as well as suitably robust and beneficial to wildlife.

Cumberland Market won the Royal Horticultural Society's London in Bloom "Best Public Park & Open Space" Silver Award 2007.

The project featured in 'Parks, People and Nature: A guide to enhancing natural habitats in London's parks and green spaces in a changing climate', a joint publication by the Mayor of London and Natural England.

 
 

A FEW URBAN LANDSCAPES

Riverside Walkway, Twickenham Embankment

Portia worked alongside Richmond's Highways team and Arborists to design a planting scheme for the first phase of renovation in 2009, then, four years later was asked to provide the masterplan for a second phase of the riverside walkway. A mixture of hard and soft landscaping included work not just to the riverside walkway, but also to the adjacent highway, car parking areas and surrounding soft landscaping.

The popular riverside walk is always a busy spot at lunchtime and weekends, but the local riverside pub means it is especially popular after the rugby matches at nearby Twickenham stadium. It is also subject to monthly flooding. The planting therefore had to be attractive but suitably robust.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Planting by Old Deer Park, Richmond

This stretch of planting is located alongside the main arterial road into Richmond. Designed to provide interest by the Fan Zone for the duration of the Rugby 2015 World Cup, it had to be at its peak throughout October and November of its first growing season

 
 
 
 
 
 

Hampton Wick Roundabout

Brightly coloured planting adds a splash of colour to a busy spot just to the West of Kingston Bridge.

 
 

MEADOWS

Between 2010 - 2016, Portia managed a borough-wide project for Richmond, which saw the creation of 24 flowering meadows from seed and pre-germinated mats. Observing the problems associated with establishing meadows in this way, she designed and developed a new style of flowering perennial meadow which is established from small, 9cm plants and designed to look bold, romantic and natural in form.

These planted meadows, which she developed for Richmond, are unique forms of public plantings, having high aesthetic, wildlife and community value as well as being exceptionally sustainable to manage. To date, 6 of these novel meadows have been established, and they are among the most popular planting schemes in the borough.

Terrace Gardens, Richmond

This is the second planted perennial meadow Portia developed for Richmond. The meadows all provide huge quantities of nectar, pollen and seed heads, so have wonderful wildlife value while also being low in resources to maintain and manage. In this instance, a previously steep slope was transformed into 3 new terraced beds, using re-cycled granite kerb stones from a nearby High Street. The planting is comprised of perennials and grasses predominantly from the hot, dry areas of central and southern Europe.

The project has been very popular with local residents and park users, and was awarded Best Soft Landscaping Scheme by The Richmond Society in 2015.

 
 
 
 

Heathfield Recreation Ground, Whitton

Another planted perennial meadow, next to Heathfield Junior School in Whitton. Photos taken in the first growing season, so the planting will fill out substantially in future years.

 
 

Crane Park, Whitton

Flowering meadows were sown at Crane Park between 2010 - 2012. The species composition varies slightly each year, according to weather patterns, but the meadows have given a great injection of flower power to the area and have been a wonderful supply of nectar, pollen and seed heads for wildlife. Seed mixes were supplied by Landlife and Pictorial Meadows.