About me
A Different Gardener
After many years of formal gardening, I have evolved into a more relaxed gardener. I like to guide new customers to enjoy and engage with their little paradise with a fresh pair of eyes.
Often customers set expectations that lead to disappointment and heartache because they want to replicate what they see in books and on TV; they struggle to reconcile the options available to them in their garden.
Many garden practices and ideas draw their roots from the Victorian neat and tidy approach. Many of our learned pruning techniques draw their results from maximum crop or flower production, which in some cases is quite contrary to how the plant or plants like to grow together in nature.
I like to explore options with my customers to encourage wildlife and garden in a more natural way. And then we view the results together.
If this sounds like the kind of gardening you would like to know more about, please feel free to contact me.
My background
I was trained at Sutton Place Estate in Surrey under Head Gardener, John Humphreys. The standard was set in my late teens and early twenties. Money was no object as this was the former house of John Paul Getty, the well-known oil millionaire. I enjoyed a rare time in my life where there were no limits to the possibilities in the garden.
After a few years of gardening on the Estate, I felt ready for the world and became a Forman for Blakedown Landscapes soon after. I was responsible for planting many thousands of trees in and around South Wales, part of a motorway development project, and I felt an essential payoff to the environment. Although this project was worlds apart from life on the Estate, it taught me many practicalities of success in such a challenging landscape.
After three years in Europe working as a gang Forman, I returned to Shropshire to tackle an exciting project to create a woodland walk through our secret hills in Clun, Shropshire. Many years of self-employment developed into my present business, A Real Gardener.
Send me a message
Get in touch
Bishops Castle, SY9 5PA
I usually respond to emails within 24 hours. The best time to call me is first thing or in the evening. Thank you.