About me

A portrait photograph of Lachlan Richardson sitting in his small Courtyard garden in Canberra. Luxurious jacket, green plants and textured wall in background
Signature: Lachlan S richardson scribbled artfully across the page. A designer signature.

Garden Designer & Educator

Hey, I'm Lachlan.

I've spent the last 15 years working in the landscape industry in Canberra.

I focus on:

  1. Affordable & Ecological spaces

  2. Unique Garden Designs

  3. Experience design for Brands

I was born into a family with a history of nursery ownership, ecological conservation, gardening & landscape architecture.

If I were an apple, I didn’t fall far from the tree.

My values

In everything I do I strive to…

1. Contribute to a world I’d feel excited about living in.

I believe in creating a regenerating world (one that is beyond sustainable), filled with experiences of wonder.

2. Fight against the things that threaten an exciting future.

Climate change. Racism. Colonialism. Homophobia. Transphobia. Land degradation. Habitat Loss. Bad urban development.

My approach

After working in this industry for 15 years, I’ve developed a very specific set of interests.

Affordable, Ecological Gardens / Garden Consulting / Garden Designs / Spatial Experience Design for Brands

A low cost, affordable ecological garden made sustainable and great for biodiversity. Lots of wildflowers and native bushes.

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Affordable, ecological gardens:

I want to make garden design affordable and accessible to those who can’t afford traditional design and construction services.

Finding ways to make my knowledge, expertise and experience available to others to use affordably feels right. Placeholder© is my first digital product aligned with this. The next service I’m going to launch is called NightGarden: it’s an online gardening education platform.

Garden Consulting:

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I really enjoy providing one-off consultations and advice. Often in 1 meeting in your garden we can get you unstuck and feeling really good about your garden’s direction.

Sometimes you just need an expert perspective to change the way you’re thinking about your garden. Often all I need to do is confirm everything you’ve been thinking makes sense for your garden and that will give you confidence to keep going. Book one here.

A low view of a recycled timber boardwalk in a small native garden filled with native australian wildflowers. Made by garden designer Lachlan Richardson

Garden Designs:

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I limit myself to 8 design projects per year. Focusing on unique designs with an emphasis on conceptual exploration, quality craftsmanship and attention to detail.

The decision to limit my annual projects was to keep the quality and creativity per project as high as possible.

I believe in delivering the best. If you’re interested in doing something really special; start by booking an initial consultation.

My fees start at $5k for garden designs

Experience design for brands is essential for deep customer experiences. As a garden designer I excel at enhancing the outdoor experience of any establishment. Image of Thor's hammer entry.

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Spatial Experience Design for Brands:

I have a deep passion for the design of spatial experiences. Aesop is one of my favourite brands because of their unique approach to spatial experience.

If you’d like to discuss the development of a unique space to deepen the connection between your brand and your customers. Send me an email or book a discovery call.

I’ve previously worked with Thor’s Hammer & Molonglo group to enhance the experiences of their brand.

My recent posts on Instagram:

My drawings suck lol. I need your help. Hiring: Draftsperson & Design Assistant Know someone? I'm looking for a talented individual with strong drafting skills and a refined aesthetic sensibility. This is a casual role with flexible hours and
Swipe to see how a simple change in colour and texture can transform the entire feel of a space. In the ‘Before’ shot, the white courtyard walls felt sterile and cold. But by texturing and layering rich, dark tones using Dulux Texture Fin
Last Friday was January 26. Some know it as Australia day, others, Invasion day. I planned to post this on the 26th, but was delayed by sickness. I thought “Ah, I’ve missed my chance to post this now, I’ll write about this another t
By following this guide, you will be able to transform your garden into a home for 26 butterfly species. It’s cheaper than paying for a garden design, and waaaayy better than DIY. This is my second Placeholder Garden Package: Butterfly meadow
Placeholder started with the question; how can I make beautiful gardens more affordable? This week, after 5 months of research, and 150+ hours of work, I've got the first solution. I wanted to try and understand how I can help people who want an af
Exploring a few different styles of bath houses & bathing experiences in this mood board. I'd love to know which one is your favourite? . . . #kamakura #onsen #hokokuji #gardendesign #experiencedesign #bathhouse #somaticexperience #canberrabus
I found one of my greatest passions in my biggest weakness. What a (challenging) delight it is to be a human & have the wild ride of personal development amidst the chaos of trying to pay our bills, connect with people we care about & do go