SALE garden designer, Robert Frier, received the best birthday present he could have wished for when he was handed a top international award for his work.

Robert, who lives and works on Norris Road, woke up on his 57th birthday on February 20 to the news that his work had been the most popular among the more than 25 million voting visitors of international design website www.houzz.com.

Beating competition from across the globe, Robert took the award in the ‘Design and Service’ category

“It’s such a privilege to be chosen and have my work appreciated by people from all around the world,” said Robert.

“The people voting included top design professionals and some of the most important global clients.”

He believes working to non-conventional methods and never settling for monotony add bulk to his design credentials.

“I work in an eccentric, physical way.

“Unlike most designers; who stick to computer design, I use a drawing board and models.”

Designing gardens for clients across the country under his Charlesworth Design, Robert says his inspiration for creating beautiful landscapes may have been ignited in his father’s Sale garden.

“When I was six years old there was a bit of land at the end of my dad’s garden. He said ‘Do what you want with it’. So I built bridges, race traces and water features.”