Where it all began

My interest in gardens started pretty early. At just 14, while I was still at school, I set up a little garden maintenance business. What started as a way of earning some money quickly became something I genuinely loved, and that’s really where my passion for gardens began to develop.

Not long afterwards, I had the opportunity to work for a local landscaping company under Phil Oakley — my first proper boss and someone who had a huge influence on the way I approached the industry. Phil taught me the importance of doing things properly, taking pride in the details and always trying to be the best at what you do.

The photograph here is actually of Phil and me when we met again a few years ago, having not seen each other for a very long time. It was a lovely reminder of where my career really started and of someone who played an important part in those early years.

After leaving college and gaining that hands-on experience, I eventually decided it was time to take everything I had learned and do it for myself.

At 22, I started my own company designing and building gardens — and that was the beginning of the journey that ultimately led to LOL Garden Design today.

Sharing what I’ve learned

As my career developed, I found myself being given opportunities I could never have imagined when I first started that little gardening business at 14.

I’ve been fortunate enough to be invited to speak on stage at industry events, share my experiences and talk about something I’ve always been genuinely passionate about — creating better gardens and helping people understand what goes into designing and building them properly.

Some of those opportunities have involved helping and guiding homeowners, while others have allowed me to share what I’ve learned with people coming into the landscaping industry and the next generation of designers and landscapers.

I’ve always believed that experience is worth very little if you’re not prepared to share it. Being able to pass on some of the lessons I’ve learned — including the mistakes, not just the successes — has become another really rewarding part of my journey.

To think that I started out at 14 simply enjoying working in gardens, and have since been given opportunities to stand on stage and share that passion with others, is something I’m incredibly proud of.

The best part of the journey

For all the awards, incredible projects and experiences I’ve had over the years, the part I’ve probably loved the most has always been working with my clients.

Every garden starts with somebody trusting me with their ideas. Sometimes it’s a detailed brief and sometimes it’s simply a collection of thoughts, photographs and dreams of how they would like their garden to feel. My job is to listen, understand what really matters to them and then find a way of turning those ideas into something real.

I’ve always felt incredibly honoured by the amount of trust my clients place in me. A garden can be a significant investment, but it’s also part of someone’s home and their life, and I’ve never taken that responsibility lightly.

I love the whole journey — from those first conversations and sketches, through the excitement of developing the design, to eventually seeing the finished garden come to life.

But nothing quite beats that final moment when a client walks into their completed garden and you see their face light up.

Knowing that something which once existed only as an idea on a piece of paper has become a place where a family will relax, entertain, celebrate and make memories for years to come is still one of the most rewarding parts of what I do.

That feeling has never got old — and I hope it never does.