The Gardeners’ World star on transforming her passion into a career in the spotlight
INTERVIEW NIAMH COLLINS IMAGES JENNY SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY; ROGER MECHAN
My dad and I were thick as thieves when I was growing up, and one of my earliest memories is spending hours in his potting shed where I would make cups of tea from soil and water and listen to him talking about his asparagus. My grandfather was an asparagus grower by trade and Dad tried to emulate his success, but we never had quite the right soil.
I started out in marketing, but when my parents became ill I needed something more flexible so I became a sports masseuse. Because I have an upper limb disability, I massage with my feet, and I think I was the first person in the UK to massage in that way. After 14 years I wanted a new challenge. Appearing on Gardeners’ World was on my bucket list, so when I heard the BBC were asking viewers to send in their videos, I went outside and started filming.
Back in the ’80s, my husband and I had moved from London to this 1950s house by the sea in Swansea with a garden on four different levels. We couldn’t afford a gardener, so I got stuck in. I started pulling out weeds with my feet, and gradually they got stronger. The challenge was finding latex socks to protect my skin, but eventually, with the help of our viewers, I found a solution!
The RHS then wanted to film my garden. I said that to really be diverse I should be writing for their magazine, or talking at their shows, or they should partner me with someone to design a garden. They called me back and said, “That’s a great idea! Why don’t you design your own garden for RHS Hampton Court 2022?”
It was an incredible challenge. I wanted to design something I knew I could care for without any help. The ‘snoozeability��
