Case Study
Leonie Cornelius
Dreaming in Green: Visual Storytelling for an Award-Winning Garden Designer
Verver partnered with garden designer, author and TV presenter Leonie Cornelius to create imagery for her book Dream Gardens and for ongoing promotion of her work. From photographing her show gardens at Bloom in the Park to styled portraits for press and courses, we built a visual library that reflects the soulful, immersive quality of her garden designs.
About the Brand
Leonie Cornelius is an award-winning garden and interior designer, author, and broadcaster based in Ireland. Her work blends wild nature with contemporary design, creating spaces that feel both deeply personal and quietly luxurious.
With a new book in progress and regular features in magazines and media, Leonie needed visuals that could carry her signature aesthetic across print, digital, and educational platforms.
The Challenge
Leonie’s designs are rich in texture, mood and meaning—but that nuance can be easy to lose on camera. She needed imagery that would:
- Capture her Bloom show gardens in a way that felt true to the in-person experience.
- Provide high-impact visuals for Dream Gardens and magazine features.
- Support her online garden design courses and ongoing promotional needs.
The goal was not just to document plants, but to communicate atmosphere, story, and the way people feel inside her spaces.
Our Approach
1. Bloom Show Garden Photography
We photographed Leonie’s show garden at Bloom for inclusion in Dream Gardens, focusing on:
- Wide shots that situate the viewer inside the space.
- Layered details—planting, structure, texture—that reveal her design thinking.
- Natural light that preserved the mood of the garden as visitors experienced it.
In 2025, we returned to Bloom to document a subsequent garden, capturing fresh assets for use in her courses and promotional materials.
2. Styled Portrait & Editorial Imagery
We created portraits of Leonie in and around her garden settings, designed for:
- Magazine features and PR
- Course Content
- Website and social media use
The portraits were styled to feel relaxed, thoughtful, and aligned with her brand—more like stills from a story than traditional headshots.
Results
Book-Ready Imagery
A curated set of photographs of her Bloom garden for Dream Gardens, helping bring the narrative and advice in her teachings to life.
Editorial & PR Assets
Styled portraits suitable for magazines, podcast features, articles, and online promotion.
Course & Marketing Content
Photography from Bloom 2025 that Leonie could repurpose in her garden design courses, slide decks, and social channels—keeping her visuals cohesive and recognisably “Leonie”.
Suzy’s work is incredibly detailed, highly personalised and totally unique no matter what she does. Highly recommended photographer, personal, easy to work with and has the most amazing studio in the North west!
Conclusion
For designers like Leonie, the work lives in the details: light on a leaf, the curve of a path, the way a person inhabits the space. Our collaboration translated that sensitivity into images that work in books, media, and online learning.
If you’re an author, designer or creative whose work is rooted in place, we can help you tell that story visually—beautifully and strategically.
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