Brought up on a houseboat, and in a Lock Cottage, I spent most of my muddy childhood outdoors; rescuing ducklings, building dens, rowing, and fishing out of the kitchen window. It kept my eyes open to nature, the seasons, the climate, even when I ended up reading English at Oxford University and working in the Advertising industry.
As with many career changers, it was starting a family which triggered a change in direction.
Returning to the outdoors, I trained at the prestigious English Gardening School at Chelsea Physic Garden for a Diploma in Garden Design, graduating in 2006 as Top Student in my year, with Distinction.
Since then I have been living and designing gardens in North Hampshire, and further afield, as well as gardening my own sloping, flinty clay, windy garden.
My designs range from acres of rural countryside to tiny London plots, and occasional commercial projects for house builders and developers.
I also call on my previous career to run training sessions for the Society of Garden Designers in idea generation and creative writing, as well as Branding and Marketing training for garden designers.