Stephen Woodhams (born ''c.'' 1964) was one of the youngest

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

s ever to win a Gold Medal at the

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 ...

in 1994 for ''Mr. Maidment's Garden''. He was also awarded Silver Medals in 1996, 1997 and 2000. In 2002, his ''Sanctuary'' garden, sponsored by

Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...

, won him his second Gold Medal. At the age of sixteen, Woodhams achieved a place at the prestigious

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 (Nort ...

's Garden at Wisley from where he graduated with honours. He went on to become buyer consultant at the London florists, Moyses Stevens, and in 1986 won a youth enterprise grant of £40 a week with which he set up his own business in his garden shed at the age of 22. In 1992 he opened his first shop in Ledbury Road, London W1, and quickly established an enviable portfolio of clients including Max Mara, Joseph, Michel Roux, and the Hempel. He has also been asked to style nine

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Galas, the re-opening of the Royal Opera House,

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, the décor for the Centrepoint Ball at the Natural History Museum, and the styling of the inaugural dinner at the

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...

, Bankside. In 1998, he opened Woodhams at

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; the hotel has since won the accolade of "Best Floral Hotel in the World" from '' Condé Nast Traveller'' magazine. In 2002, he opened another shop in

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on Elizabeth Street. This second shop became the flagship store. In 2008, he set up a new design business, Stephen Woodhams Design Ltd to enable him to focus on design projects in the UK, and on larger commissions in

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Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

St Tropez , INSEE = 83119 , postal code = 83990 , image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Saint-Tropez-A (Var).svg , image flag=Flag of Saint-Tropez.svg Saint-Tropez (; oc, Sant Tropetz, ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-Alp ...

and

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. In 2009, Woodhams opened a design office in Ibiza, Spain.

Publications

* Woodhams, Stephen (1995), ''The Country Dried Flower Companion'', Collins Publishers, San Francisco, * Woodhams, Stephen and Eason, Lorry (1998), ''Flower Power : innovative flower arrangements for all occasions'', Quadrille, London, * Woodhams, Stephen (1998), ''Flower Palettes : arranging flowers using color as your guide'', Clarkson Potter, New York, * Mandleberg, Hilary and Woodhams, Stephen (1999), ''Dried Flowers'', Ryland Peters & Small, London, * Woodhams, Stephen and Wood, Andrew (2000), ''Portfolio of Contemporary Gardens'', Rockport Publishers, Gloucester, MA, * Woodhams, Stephen (2004), ''Flowers'', Quadrille, London,

External links

Stephen Woodhams' website

''The Daily Telegraph'', 27 October 2001, accessed 30 December 2009
prnewswire.co.uk
press release, accessed 30 December 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodhams, Stephen English gardeners Living people Year of birth missing (living people)