Small Talk with landscape designer – James Comiskey

James Comiskey is a double RHS award winning landscape designer and the only Irish person awarded a Silver Gilt Award from the RHS at BBC Gardeners World Live

James Comiskey talks about his fascinating and successful career as a double RHS award winning landscape designer

Horticulture

18 December 2025

In association with ICL

At Growtrade, we’re running an interview series titled ‘Small Talk’, where we talk to various influential members of Ireland’s horticulture trade.

This week’s conversation is with a double RHS award winning landscape designer – James Comiskey.

How did you first get involved in the horticulture sector?

My first paid summer job was with Bord na Mona at the age of thirteen, making peat blocks for export to the tulip industry in Holland. By Junior Cert year I knew I wanted to do something that involved the outdoors. I decided to try out landscaping with a landscape and forestry company in Cavan for a summer, but I think it was with Larry Boland in Abbeylara Landscapes and Garden Centre where I got hooked.

The want for a career that involved the environment came from growing up on a small farm. We had cows, goats, chickens, geese, an apple orchard my grandfather planted and my parents grew their own vegetables. There were trips to garden centres and Gardeners World was never missed with Gerry Daly always on the radio during family road trips. I remember watching Geoff Hamilton on Gardners World and thinking – I want to do that.

What was one of the proudest moments in your career to date?

Back in 2013 I entered a competition with the RHS and BBC Gardeners World for four up and coming designers. The prize was materials and financial support from Bradstone who sponsored the competition, mentorship from Cleve West and the chance to build your design in BBC Gardeners World Live. At the same time, I had designs accepted for RHS Tatton and Bloom, and did not think much about the submission to Gardeners World, as there were over fifty entries.

I still remember the call from Jenny Jenner in the RHS letting me know I was one of the four picked by Cleve and a panel from the RHS. For a young lad who grew up on a farm in Co. Cavan, watching Geoff Hamilton on BBC Gardeners World, it was an amazing experience to be involved in the live show in Birmingham.

What was one of the greatest challenges you’ve faced in your career to date?

I was about to exit the industry when I submitted the entries to Gardeners World, Bloom and RHS Tatton in 2013. I was just finishing off a post graduate diploma in digital marketing and project management, and I was getting some decent interviews for roles as a business analyst. I went on that post graduate diploma, because I became very ill in 2011. It turns out I had an autoimmune disease called Sarcoidosis, which resulted in me almost going blind. I noticed myself slowing down about eighteen months before nearly losing my sight.

I was exhausted and it was only as I finished off the post graduate diploma that I felt myself getting better. I think this is why I made the three submissions. I was looking for a way back into the industry rather than going into a career that placed me in an office full time. Winning the award in BBC Gardeners World Live gave me a massive boost and pulled me back into the industry.

Could you give us an example of a recent success you had in your work?

I started AYG Landscape Consultants three years ago with a view to collaborating more with architects, engineers and other construction professionals involved in planning submissions. Any work where I am helping to house people, helping business owners expand their business or helping wider society improve their environment is a success.

To be specific, I was involved in a recent planning submission that was appealed to the local authority and then to An Bord Pleanala. With over fifty observations, mainly around landscape and the environmental element of the original planning submission, I was able to support the lead designer with a response to those observations. The ecologist and arborist I worked with on that submission were excellent and left me in a position to allay the fears of those who submitted the observations. So, the final grant of permission was awarded and will result in more families finding a place to call home.

What are the greatest challenges facing the industry today?

Like any industry, attracting and retaining skilled labour and inflation are the key challenges of the day. I think after those, how our industry is sometimes perceived can be very challenging. I attended the Southern Symposium in Kells Bay House and Gardens this year where Sir Tim Smit gave an enthralling account of finding and redeveloping the Lost Gardens of Heligan.

His talk started with how important our industry is to wider society. Tim wants to see us getting more vocal about that and even starting arguments in the pub with anyone who denigrates our profession! Very often you see closely related professions taking on the landscape element of a project. That can be design or implementation. The result is poorer quality which leaves the general public looking at the finished product and thinking it is someone from our profession who is responsible.

I also feel that the breadth of knowledge and skills required to be successful in our industry does not often match the remuneration achieved in other industries. This is a real shame when you look at how important our industry is to wider society and is a big part of the problem in attracting and retaining skilled people.

What are the greatest opportunities facing the industry today?

The greater level of scrutiny with planning submissions should in one way be welcomed. On the other-hand frivolous observations which only hold up the process are having a negative impact on how quickly the housing crisis can be dealt with. The demand for housing and infrastructure projects is only going to lift all of our careers. The greater level of scrutiny means that landscape professionals must be involved in the process from a much earlier stage.

I think we are also going to see much greater cross border collaboration between business, government agencies and other stakeholders in the coming years. The Dublin-Belfast economic corridor is set to become a leading economic zone within Europe. With that will come more demand for housing and infrastructure and for the goods and services our industry provides.

What advice would you give to someone just starting their career?

I teach landscape construction part-time in Pearse College. What I am drilling into my students is that attitude is everything. When you finish up in education, if you have the right attitude, wherever you end up in employment, you will be trained and developed. This seems like something basic, but it is surprising the amount of people who come out of college and expect to go straight into a management position.

The other basic things that will make you attractive to prospective employers, and are relatively easy to obtain, are a driving licence, manual handling and safe pass certification. For someone going into a design office, you need AutoCAD and Sketchup as a start. Look at the discipline you are going into and the certification you need to make you more attractive to an employer. Get as much hands-on experience as you can during your summer breaks and go abroad to obtain at least some of that.

If you are unsure about this career path, start with a one year certificate in one of the colleges, like Pearse College and then work your way up to the level eight and beyond if required. And you have to love this industry to last, because it can be tough.

What are your hopes for the future of Irish horticulture?

I would like to see greater collaboration between the different disciplines within our industry and the different professional bodies. One of the best career moves I made was joining the Garden and Landscape Designers Association. With a greater focus on landscape consultancy, I needed to be a member of a professional body. It has brought huge benefits, which I was not expecting and I would like to see more people obtaining accreditation within their discipline. Whether that is with the GLDA, ILI, ALCI, ISNA, or the CIH, and greater collaboration and networking between those bodies. And I would also like to see the UK rejoin us in the EU.

Small Talk is produced in association with ICL, a world-renowned leader in agriculture, food, industrial products, and a top global producer of specialised fertilisers.

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