Arabella Lennox-Boyd, Lady Lennox-Boyd (née Parisi) is an Italian-born English garden designer.

Background

Arabella Lennox-Boyd was born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and grew up there and at Palazzo Parisi, Oliveto, their family home. She later settled in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

where she undertook a course in

Landscape Architecture Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...

Thames Polytechnic The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

Career

Since moving to Gresgarth Hall in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

in 1978 with her family, Arabella Lennox-Boyd developed the gardens there, marrying Italian style with British plantmanship. In 1989 Arabella formed Arabella Lennox-Boyd Landscape and Architectural Design where she heads a team of designers. She has been designing gardens for over forty-five years and has landscaped more than seven hundred gardens worldwide, including six

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

(RHS)

Chelsea Flower Show The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the Great Spring Show,Phil Clayton, ''The Great Temple Show'' in ''The Garden'' 2008, p.452, The Royal Horticultural Society is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural So ...

Gold Medal gardens, and the Best of Show winner in 1998. Her many commissions range from commercial projects, such as the roof garden at No. I Poultry in the City of London; gardens open to the public, such as at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in Hyde Park, and the Maggie’s Centre in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

; small town gardens; large country estates, including the development of large-scale master plans; and Mediterranean and tropical gardens. Her larger private projects include the gardens at Ascot House in Berkshire and at Eaton Hall,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

; a garden and parkland in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

; and further gardens in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Her client list includes

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

Sir Terence Conran Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was a British designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. He founded the Design Museum in Shad Thames, London in 1989. The British designer Thomas Heatherwick said that Conran "mo ...

, David Gilmour (

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

)and

Queen Paola of Belgium Paola Margherita Maria-Antonia Consiglia dei Principi Ruffo di Calabria (born 11 September 1937) is a member of the Belgian royal family who was List of Belgian royal consorts, Queen of the Belgians during the reign of her husband, Albert II of ...

. She is a trustee of the

Chelsea Physic Garden The Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries' Garden in London, England, in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to grow plants to be used as medicines. This four acre physic garden, the term here referring to the scie ...

; and the Scientific Panel of the

International Dendrology Society International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

; trustee of

The Tree Register The Tree Register, or more fully, the Tree Register of the British Isles (T.R.O.B.I.), is a Charitable organization#Registration, registered charity run by volunteers, collating and updating a database of notable trees throughout Britain and Irela ...

of the British Isles (T.R.O.B.I.); member of the RHS Woody Plant Committee; and a patron of

Painshill Park Painshill (formally Painshill Park) is a restored 18th-century English park and landscape garden in Cobham, Surrey, England. It was designed and created between 1738 and 1773 by the owner, Charles Hamilton. Painshill is Grade I- listed and is ...

Trust. Previously, she served as a Trustee of

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

for nine years, was a member of The Historic Parks and Gardens Panel of English Heritage and sat on the Heritage panel for six contemporary Heritage gardens. She was a founding member of the Martin McLaren Horticultural Scholarship and a member of the Council of the International Dendrology Society. Lennox-Boyd was awarded the RHS

Veitch Memorial Medal The Veitch Memorial Medal is an international prize awarded annually by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). Goal The prize is awarded to "persons of any nationality who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement and improvement ...

for her work in Horticulture, and an Honorary Doctorate of Design (HonDDes) from the

University of Greenwich The University of Greenwich is a public university located in London and Kent, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along wi ...

where she is also a member of The Assembly. She is listed in

House & Garden (magazine) ''House & Garden'' is a shelter magazine published by Condé Nast Publications that focuses on interior design, entertaining, and gardening that began in the USA in 1901. The magazines original US edition ceased in 1993, and after an unsuccessf ...

in 2021, as one of the top 50 garden designers in the UK.

Marriages

Arabella Parisi married her first husband, Philippe Lacloche Dehaulme de Vallombreuse, a son of Nathalie Volpi, Countess di

Misurata Misrata ( ; , Libyan Arabic: ; also spelled Misratah and known by the Italian spelling Misurata) is a city in northwestern Libya located in the Misrata District, situated to the east of Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast near C ...

(née Nathalie El-Kanoui), by her first husband. They were divorced and had one daughter, Dominique.Patrick Beauclerk Dewar, ''Burke's Landed Gentry of Great Britain'', Burke's Peerage, 2001, page 88 She married her second husband, Mark Lennox-Boyd (born 1943), youngest son of

Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton Alan Tindal Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton, CH, PC, DL (18 November 1904 – 8 March 1983), was a British Conservative politician. Background, education and military service Lennox-Boyd was the son of Alan Walter Lennox-Boyd by h ...

, on 29 June 1974; he was knighted in 1994 and is now Sir Mark Lennox-Boyd. They have one child, Patricia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lennox-Boyd, Arabella 1938 births British garden writers English gardeners English landscape and garden designers English landscape architects Living people Italian emigrants to the United Kingdom Veitch Memorial Medal recipients Commanders of the Order of the British Empire