About

Gardens of mine have been featured on the TV Show Location, Location, Location and I’m a regular contributor on BBC local radio. I’ve been involved with show gardens in London for the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) and at Gardener’s World at the NEC

As a country girl, born and bred in rural Staffordshire, I’ve always loved nature. Plants and flowers have brought so much joy into my life and I’m passionate about sharing that with others. It’s a privilege to help people create the garden of their dreams.

I used to work as a rep for British Airways, but, after starting to learn about gardening as I transformed our outdoor space at home, I decided that garden design would be the perfect career for me.

I obtained a Diploma in Garden Design in 1994 at what was then Rodbaston Agricultural College. I’ve been a regular expert panellist at Grand Designs Live, held annually at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre (NEC). I’ve been involved with show gardens in London for the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) and at Gardener’s World at the NEC.

Gardens of mine have been featured on the TV Show Location, Location, Location and I’m a regular contributor on BBC local radio.

I was delighted to be invited to become an industry mentor for an RHS schools project a few years ago. I love encouraging youngsters to enjoy gardening. In this role, I guide them through the process of creating their own designs for outside spaces. They have such imagination and energy and I’m sure I learn as much from them as they do from me.

Working on heritage projects is another source of great pleasure and pride. I had an advisory role with the Walled Garden at Elford, after they secured lottery funding, and ran a gardening group for them. I was also involved with the Orangery at Ingestre after it obtained funding from The Heritage Lottery Fund to transform its overgrown gardens and Capability Brown landscapes to re-open as a community venue and heritage hub.

For many years I’ve supported women in business in the Lichfield, Tamworth and Burton areas, including a spell co-running a community interest company to help working women develop new skills.

In my spare time I enjoy encouraging my young grandson to take his first steps in gardening by learning about insects, wildlife and flowers and having fun outside in nature.

The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul

Alfred Austin