Mike Bayon died at the age of 92 on 29th May 2014.
His love of gardening and kindness to all he met has been his great legacy to Mike Bayon Garden Design which continues to make gardens in memory of him.
Andy joined Mike Bayon Garden Design full time in February 1983, became a partner in 1985 and, in 1991, took over the business in partnership with Roger Lang. After studying English and Art History at UEA and Goldsmiths, London, Andy was “footling around with no real idea of what I wanted to do” when an old school friend called: “He told me about how he was working as a landscaper for this eccentric guy Mike Bayon and there was a vacancy – you had to work really hard, but it was great fun.”
“Flair, wit and knowledge remain the distinctive trademarks
of the company”
Our History
Mike Bayon Garden Design was founded in 1982. Its charismatic founder, Mike Bayon, was a life-long gardener who, after retirement from his first career in teaching, enjoyed being able to indulge his passion by helping friends and neighbours with their gardens. However, word quickly spread of his flair for garden design and immense knowledge of indigenous and exotic plants. Mike was soon in such demand that he decided to set up his own company and take on a permanent team, including Andy Gardiner and Roger Lang who eventually became his partners.
Within a few years Mike Bayon Garden Design had evolved into a thriving business, winning major commissions at home and abroad. By the late 1980s, the team was creating a three-acre garden in the South of France for Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, designing an English cottage garden in Wiltshire for Lord Puttnam and transforming a town roof garden in Belgravia for Sir Yehudi Menuhin. The company won awards and exhibited at both the Hampton Court and Chelsea Flower Shows and its work was featured on television and radio and in the national press, including The Observer, Sunday Times Magazine, Homes & Gardens and Harpers & Queen.
Under the leadership of Andy and Roger, Mike Bayon Garden Design has created an extensive portfolio of garden triumphs with clients ranging from well-known personalities and large businesses to, of course, private individuals. These include a huge number who ask for help whenever further work is required in their garden or when they want to create a fresh design for a new or second home.
Whatever the scale or nature of the job, Mike Bayon Garden Design’s approach remained the same: a commitment to making unique gardens that Andy and Roger were proud of and that clients would enjoy.
The flair, wit and knowledge of the three men who shaped Mike Bayon Garden Design established the distinctive trademarks of the company. Mike Bayon died in 2014 at the age of 92 having inspired thousands of gardens and hundreds of gardeners. Now in 2021 Andy and Roger are beginning the next stage of their gardening careers. Andy is operating his own company under the banner of Mike Bayon Garden Design West. This will operate in the West and south-west of England. Roger will be running his business in London and the Home Counties.