Arthur Shackleton was born in Dublin to a family of passionate gardeners with Quaker origins. His father David was one of Ireland’s foremost plantsmen. Arthur has been designing and advising on gardens for many years and has worked on a wide range of interesting and unusual projects from small city gardens to large estates, predominantly in Ireland but also in the UK and USA.
Walled gardens are a favourite, coming from a background of an old house, Beech Park, with a beautiful walled garden, now taken care of by Fingal County Council.
Arthur lives in Abbeyleix, Co.Laois, where he and his wife Carol, have a walled garden which is open to the public, Fruitlawn Garden. The design of this garden gives a good idea of his style: strong structure, extensive range of plants, planted in loose and free flowing informality.