Garden Design
When a garden is planted to align with the realities of its soil, its climate, its neighbours and inhabitants; when it aligns with your capabilities and needs; when you recognise and find beauty in its inherent chaos and live with it in all its seasons; then you’ll find it teaches you just as much about serenity as any philosophy.
I design planting schemes that include you, your space and your realities. Working in concert with you, we’ll find plants that can thrive in your space; that you can embrace and that will embrace you in return.
Shade garden
Wrapped by mature trees, on the north side of the house, needing to encompass aging pets and host a small horde of frogs, this garden needs work!
Social garden
A seared lawn between two large existing patios is slowly being replaced by resilient, fluid planting.
Jackwood Terrace
On the site of an old rose garden in a public open space, Jackwood is now thriving, wildlife friendly and ever changing. I created a planting plan sensitive to its site next to a SSSI and give ongoing support to the volunteer crew who care for it.
Skyhigh Allotment
I run a rooftop allotment atop an office block. We share weekly harvests, experiment with different crops and learn as we go about food growing in very strange conditions.
30 min or 1 hour lecture available, £POA
Advice on your own veg patch, £POA
Workshops
I run workshops on garden skills and on the basic hand skills that will help you use what you have gathered or grown.
Dry scent sessions
Whether as tea, as a bath product or as a pot pourri, combining scent and colour is an easily accesible sensory experience available in short or long form sessions.
Small groups by arrangement, £POA
Seed saving
A conversation and practical on seed processing, both wet and dry – how, why and when you might and might not save your own seeds.
Small groups by arrangement, £POA
Herb drying
An exploration of gathered herbs and how you might preserve each.
Small groups by arrangement, £POA
Hello!
I spent my career in offices and airports, working in science publishing and then IT. Eventually, I came to a place where that was work I no longer wanted to do, and started transforming my life into something that fitted me better.
A lifelong gardener (I don’t remember not gardening!), I’ve always found both calm and joy in contact with the soil and in the slow unceasing change of the seasons. The little details as seedlings turn into identifiable plants; the great sweeps of tree branches; the hope and fear as you transform your fruit crop into jam.
Creation is only a part of the joy for me – sharing what I’ve made is a terrifying pleasure. And watching other people step beyond the things they’ve known and into a path that’s brought me so much is indescribable.
