curriculum vitae jonathan. m. radford

main website: www.ecologicagardens.com
e-mail: ecologicagardens@gmail.com
cell: (0039) 328 7311 308
landline: (0039) 0577 873 897

age: 37 years
status; single

education:

- phase 1 city and guilds in commercial horticulture
-N.C. in commercial horticulture + landscape design. both of these were obtained at the west sussex college of horticulture, west sussex england.

employment:

present- director of ecologica®, the new water saving garden system, which allows for a reduction of:
  50% of installation costs
  80% of water for irrigation
  80% of maintenance
current projects include (see gallery):
 
- large private garden in Umbria, Italy
- renovation of the grounds of a 16th century palace in tuscany.
- garden/ design consultant to count cervini, palazzo cervini, siena

2007 - present day - head gardener marquise origo, chiarentana, tuscany, Iitaly
  - garden consultant Marquise Origo, La Foce, Tuscany, Italy

2006 – 2007 - head gardener claus thottrop, tuscany, italy. a garden of 6 hectares: comprising of formal gardens, extensive fine lawn areas and wild flower meadows, vegetable gardens and orchards.

2003-2005 - head gardener edward goldsmith, Tuscany, Italy. (Read Times article) A garden of 5 hectares: comprising of 60 olive trees, an orchard with peaches, apricots, figs, plums and cherries. A large contemporary organic vegetable garden with tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, artichokes, spinach, Swiss chard, various salads and cabbage, leeks, carrots, beetroot, cucumber, courgettes, pumpkins, potatoes, maize, onions, garlic, herbs and espalier apricots peaches and figs. Wild flower gardens suggested and developed by me ecologica® with poppies, fennel, wild orchids, gladioli, onions and garlic. The whole garden was run organically, with a system of hay harvesting to produce compost, again developed by me.(see www.ecologicagardens.com )

2001-2005 - head gardener and design consultant: a 16th century castle, monastery, romanic church (13th century) with a 10 hectare estate comprising of orchard, vegetable garden, wild flower garden, formal renaissance garden with box and rose parterres. medieval garden designed and created by me (see web-site), using my system ‘ecologica’. I have also managed the Counts holiday homes on the estate for the past four years, which has also given me a wide range of experience in the tourism sector.

2000-2001 - Head gardener and design consultant castle forst, lagundo, Italy: a garden of around 3 hectares in the dolomite mountain range, northern Italy. the garden surrounded a large medieval castle belonging to a private brewery. it comprised of an orchard wild flower garden, large rose garden (classic english), large fine lawns, a 16th century water mill with a stream garden (hostas, iris, ferns etc). (see web site).

1998-present - design consultant contessa du parc, castle rubein, merano, dolomites, northern italy (see web-site)

1997-1999- foreman and design consultant aquarius social cooperative, bolzano, northern italy: The rehabilitation of drug addicts hiv sufferers and the mentally handicapped using horticulture as a therapy.(see cdrom)

 1997 - 1998 - Head gardener for Marquiss Spinola, Turin, Italy

1996-1997- Quality inspector and foreman, Exomart, Bologna, Italy.

1996 (6 months) - Foreman Tony Rottensteiner landscapes, Bolzano, Dolomites, Northern Italy: Construction and maintenance of private gardens and amenity plantings, installation of the MW SOUNDBARRIER SYSTEM.

 1989-1996 - Director ’Enchanted gardens’ design and maintenance of private gardens in and around West Sussex England most notably the design and construction of a 7 hectare garden belonging to a 17th century listed building. The garden comprised of 4 acres of fine lawn, formal gardens, wild flower gardens, woodland walks, vegetable garden and large planting schemes. (See Website)

1987- 88 - Student-One-year work experience, Anthony Archer-wills, constructing large lakes ponds, streams and water falls using biological filter systems in the whole of England. The propagation of aquatic and marginal plants at his nursery in West Sussex, England.(see website)

 
1987-1990-Tree surgeon/landscape gardener, James E Cherriman, West Sussex, England. A 3-man team maintaining small gardens, hard/soft landscaping and maintenance of parks and large gardens in West Sussex and surrounding area. Operating large chainsaws, performing tree surgery/felling and general woodland maintenance, operating telehandlers, winch cranes etc, on weekends and school holidays. (See Website).

personal profile
  I was born into a family of gardeners; both my parents and their grandparents were market gardeners and farmers. I grew up helping my father tend his vegetable garden and assisting him with his private clients as a gardener. When I was around 15/16 years old I began repairing damaged forests after the 1987 tornado, which struck England. I also began landscaping and maintaining many damaged gardens in the same period. I studied horticulture at the West Sussex horticultural college in the south of England. Soon after I finished my studies I set up a small landscape business named ‘Enchanted gardens’
  At the age of 22 I moved to Italy and continued working in horticulture and related fields. I have now been here for 10 years. During these 10 years I have gained a good understanding of Mediterranean plants and horticultural/design techniques. I have worked for rehabilitating organisations dealing with very complex mentally handicapped, drug addicts and HIV sufferers, requiring good people skills.
  I have designed many gardens both in the UK and here in Italy and I consider myself more than capable of undertaking any type of garden project.

additional information

  I have written two books about my life as a gardener, one named “A Green Existence“ and the other “The Smiths and Jones of Chiantishire“, Read: http://www.lifeinitaly.com/garden/authors.asp I speak fluent Italian. I have developed and patented a system of garden design ecologica®, which reduces water consumption, and maintenance. This system uses a very special river washed gravel to create unique, attractive and very practical Mediterranean gravel gardens and uses wild flower meadows, which provide great organic compost. www.ecologicagardens.com

I LOOK FORWARD TO SOLVING YOUR PROBLEM !!

Jonathan Radford.