Anna Piussi

Award-winning garden designer, Pre-registered Member of the Society of Garden Designers. Experienced lecturer in Garden History, published writer on gardens and gardening.

I was born in Florence, Italy. I went to college at New York University and then Oxford University for my Ph.D. in History of Art, with a thesis on Orientalism in Art. It was a great excuse for hitch-hiking across the Sahara, and sailing up the Nile on a feluca.

I have travelled extensively in Europe, the Middle and Far East, and Africa. Following a near-death riding accident, I found strength for recovery in nature, and lost the desire to spend the rest of my life in museums. 

I lived in England for a number of years and cultivated a passion in garden design. As a result I have now combined both of my interests: teaching History of Landscape and Garden Design.

I love what I do

As a designer I seek to create a link between the architecture of the house and the surrounding environment through the lines and material of the garden. I seek ecological solutions, such as drought-tolerant planting, without losing sight of the garden's function as a work of art, created for the enjoyment of its users. In teaching I foster an understanding of both historical and ecological aspects of gardens, because only by understanding and respecting our past can we hope to have a future.

Form follows function. Spirituality is a function.

I believe gardens are the meeting point of humans with nature, a place in which to seek balance, to find one's place among other living beings. 

Gardens Designed

• The Sonic Pangea Garden, with Stefano Passerotti, Chelsea Flower Show 2013
• Giardino d'Amor Novo, Orticolario garden show, 2012
• Monte Ortu, Corsica, 2010-2011
• Giardino Torrigiani, Florence, 2010
• Via Maggio Penthouse, Florence, 2010
• Middagh Street, Brooklyn, NY, 2008
• Warnborough Rd., Oxford, 2000-2004
• Parktown, Oxford, 2002
• Via Berni, Florence, 2001
• Historical gardens consultant: Certosa di Firenze, 2011

Teaching

• 2005 - ongoing - New York University, Villa La Pietra Summer School, "Tuscan Gardens and Landscapes"
• Lecture series on Garden History and History of Art for: Oxford University, Kellog College; Oxford Brookes; Richmond College; Lorenzo de' Medici; Florence University of the Arts

Other experience

• I enjoy writing on Gardening and Garden History. I've also published articles on Nineteenth Century Art History, and in a past life I've written short stories in Italian, winning several writing competitions.