Meet the Team

Maria Jose

Our design team are a wonderful melting pot of ideas, creativity and hard work. We realised that these days, when we are getting out and about much less, it would be a great idea to briefly profile each of the team to share something more about them. Next up is Maria

Background

Originally from Poland, Maria graduated from Buckinghamshire New University with a first class honours degree in Spatial Design and worked as an Interior and Set Designer before joining the CGLA team in 2019.

Projects

rooftop terraces as well as bigger commercial projects. Her creative skills not only help with the design process, but also bring artistic touch to our concept ideas. She has an ability to translate ideas through sketching, transform them into a design language as well as come up with unique sculptural elements used in our designs. Maria is also able to provide our clients with realistic visuals and photoshopped plans of their dream outdoor spaces..

Describe your style

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” ― Roald Dahl

I wouldn’t say I have my own style, as every project is different, describes different personality and has a unique function. I only try to open the secret door to imagination and try to show the client what can be achieved in their garden. Even the most abandoned nooks and crannies of any space can be transformed into something magical.

Favourite plants

I didn’t think I ever had a favourite plant until I came across Iris ‘Black Suited’. While working on few projects with Ruth, she introduced me to this unusual specimen. It flowers from late April to early June and it’s very elegant. They could be perfect as a magical accent to any garden. Their unique colour brings a little bit of mystery to an ordinary planting bed.

Biggest Challenge

Every challenge is an opportunity. My biggest challenge was actually joining the Landscape Design Team at CGLA. In the same time it became an opportunity to apply my Set Design skills. To overcome the challenge I decided to treat every new project from my creative point of view. Painting visual settings for motion pictures is one of my passions. Every project is a complex task that consists of storyboard drawings, costume design, set design and careful process of selecting relevant props and location. All this has to be in harmony with the given script and even music. This makes me think of each landscape project like working on a set. The script in this case would be the brief given by our client, our first sketches – storyboard, plans and visuals – set design and costumes and finally the planting as our carefully selected key props, that play a huge role in landscape design

How does your background inspire your creativity?

When I think of how my cultural background and the place I come from shaped me as a designer and the way I approach and perceive design, few things come to my mind. Firstly, the country I come from has a very rich and impressive culture in terms of art and history. However, the difficult and challenging political situation in the past influenced the way people lived their lives and also restricted their opportunities.

There were times were there was no access to art supplies, many kinds of resources were limited and there was not much room for creativity. Nevertheless, it actually made people think outside of the box and I’m grateful for that. My parents knew ways of creating something from nothing. From making my own homemade modelling clay, painting murals on my bedroom walls to building a four storey doll house from recycling materials, coffee cans, decorated with framed postage stamps. I learnt a lot through my childhood and teenage years in Poland and I try to use that creative way of thinking to this day and look for opportunities in places where people see that nothing can be achieved or done.

Do you have any hobbies that influence your design approach?

In my spare time I still get involved in various art projects including set design, sculpting, modelmaking, painting, photography and art installations. I constantly search for inspirations to influence my approach. Some of them come from magical places I try to capture as a photographer, some of them from music or a script that accompanies visual projects.

Maria is part of the design team at CGLA who are an award winning team of Garden Designers, Landscape Architects, Landscapers and Garden Maintenance Operatives working in Buckinghamshire, London and the South East, as well as on prestigious design projects across the UK and abroad. We are currently working in Oman, Jersey and France, and welcome enquires for design, landscaping or garden maintenance. Contact us here