Meet the Team

Dorina Flanek

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. Meet Dorina, one of our newest designers at CGLA

spring garden inspiration for hedgerows

Background

Dorina is originally from Hungary and graduated as a Landscape Architect in 2017. In the last 5 years she has got professional experience working for various different size landscape firms in the UK and in Hungary before finally joining CGLA in 2022.

Describe your style

“I like to think outside the box, and consider a bit more creative and playful solutions – things you would not necessarily think of. Also, I do believe that design and functionality can and should go hand in hand – implementing client’s demands and style into an attractive and fun, but still useable and maintainable garden is the goal”.

Project

spring garden inspiration mown path through meadow
spring garden inspiration mown path through meadow
spring garden inspiration mown path through meadow
spring garden inspiration mown path through meadow
spring garden inspiration mown path through meadow
spring garden inspiration mown path through meadow

Favourite plants

“Every plant has its own ‘vibe’ – it creates a certain feel, an atmosphere, and it can easily become a signature to a place.

I think my absolute favourite is the Plane tree – Platanus x acerifolia. It is big, magnificent and timeless, perfect for long, wide avenues and big parks, but unfortunately not so good for small space and private gardens. The size, the shape of the leaves, the texture of the bark, just catches the eye”.

spring garden inspiration mown path through meadow
spring garden inspiration mown path through meadow

“For private gardens and smaller commercial areas, I would say Kousa dogwood – Cornus kousa, which is a much more manageable size. It is a lovely multi-stemmed tree with big white flowers”.

spring garden inspiration mown path through meadow
spring garden inspiration mown path through meadow

“For herbaceous you can’t go wrong with Allium giganteum. It is seasonal, it doesn’t require a lot of space, it’s funky with its tiny star-shaped bulbs, it’s beautiful purple – a bold and striking addition to any garden”.

spring garden inspiration mown path through meadow

How does your background inspire your creativity?

“I was born in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, and grew up in large panel block, right on the top of a ten-storey building with not much green around. Maybe because of the desire to get out of the city I fell in love with hiking and mountain climbing as a kid. So growing up, influenced by the combination of the love of nature and living in the city, I decided I want to become a landscape architect to make the environment greener, the cities more liveable in – a way that is also pleasing to the eye”.

Do you have any hobbies that influence your design approach?

“Travelling and experiencing other cultures are very important for me to get inspired, to become more open to new ideas, and simply to get to see the beauty, and the different way people see the world around. I also love taking photos, which teaches me how to find a good composition, good lighting with a good subject for a great picture”.

spring garden inspiration mown path through meadow
spring garden inspiration mown path through meadow
spring garden inspiration mown path through meadow
spring garden inspiration mown path through meadow

Dorina 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