He was invalided from the army and then managed Sunningdale Nurseries; this had been purchased by his father and a cousin at the outbreak of the war.
He revived the fortunes of the nursery and then started in a career of garden design.
His first commission was for Lord Hastings at Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland.
[1] In the 1960s Russell worked with the wives of the 4th and 5th Dukes of Westminster in Eaton Hall, Cheshire, to develop the gardens that had been neglected for many years.
[2] He later worked with the garden designer Graham Stuart Thomas.