"I probably knew about Sarah long before she had ever heard of me. I was a great fan and remember attending one of her superb courses on vegetable growing and coming away filled with inspiration.
I felt I’d met a kindred soul. So, when I was first asked to teach at Perch Hill, several years ago, I really did feel fortunate. I adore my days at Perch Hill and always come away with my head full of plants and plans and positivity!"
YOUR GARDEN STORIES WITH
Shane Connolly
HOW DID YOU AND SARAH FIRST MEET?
I attended one of her courses at Perch Hill. A long time fan, I’d wanted to go for ages and tried a “grow your own veg” day. It wasn’t long after that Sarah asked me to teach at Perch Hill myself and that was the start of our friendship.
WHAT'S YOUR EARLIEST GARDEN MEMORY?
Gardening and especially growing seeds as a child in my parents’ garden. I particularly remember ‘harvesting’ nasturtium seeds with my mother and peeling lunaria (honesty) seed pods with her to reveal the beautiful shiny moons beneath.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO FLORISTRY?
A love of gardening really. Through friends of the family I was introduced to the wonderful floral designers Michael Goulding and Elizabeth Barker, way back in 1985. I was studying psychology at university in Northern Ireland at the time but was coming to London for 6 months. I asked if I could help them and fell in love with the world of event design. The rest, as they say, is history.
WHAT FLOWERS COULD YOU NOT LIVE WITHOUT?
I think the scent of flowers is very important to me, and especially scented winter flowers like Chimonanthus (wintersweet) and Viburnums like bodnantense. They’re the flowers I’d be most sad to live without.
SUSTAINABILITY IS SO IMPORTANT TO YOU AND YOUR WORK. WHAT'S THE ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU'D GIVE PEOPLE SEEKING TO BE MORE ECO-CONSCIOUS?
I always say that sustainable decisions are GOOD, BETTER and BEST. So don’t beat yourself up if you aren’t always BEST. Change happens slowly and making small steps is better than no steps at all.
WHAT'S THE ONE OLD WIVES' GARDENING TRICK THAT ACTUALLY WORKS?
Buy the least showy/flowery plant in a nursery when choosing a specimen. Go for the healthy green one. The ones that are performing always take longer to establish.
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GROWING IN YOUR GARDEN THIS YEAR?
Every year you think, “that plant will do better next year” so there’s a long list of things I’m looking forward to for 2025! I always look forward to the first peach from the greenhouse though. The taste is unsurpassed and I eat it immediately, straight from the tree.
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