My journey

Hello

Everyone has a story of their journey. This is mine.....

I am a professional chatterbox! I am also a qualified horticulturist and founder of 

Companion Gardener ®‰.

In a previous life I had a successful career as a professional events organiser for corporate giants and I was paid to travel the world. It's an industry that strives for perfection where nothing is ever good enough. On the outside I did a good job but on the inside I was a mess and my coping mechanism was cigarettes and alcohol with frequent meltdowns. 

My husband and I always knew that our commuter lives wouldn't be forever. We worked so hard to find a good work life balance and always had the mantra that we had one life so we should live it. 

In 2012 our dreams came true and we moved to Shap, just on the outskirts of the Lake District National Park. It took me a few years to accept that I needed a new career and then some more to actually have the balls to do something about it. Changing your career in your forties is not easy but I did it and loved every minute of going to college.

Whilst at college my mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer and I spent every month commuting over 350 miles to see her. To say the bottom fell out of my world when she died is an understatement and her passing has left a hole in my life that nothing will ever fill. It is those college chums that showed their genuine sincerity at a desperate time in my life that I am now so proud to call them my friends. 

As the first anniversary of mum's passing approached, I felt an outpouring of compassion towards others as well as the desire to share my passion for gardening. I was absolutely convinced people would want a companion to garden with and so the idea was born. By making gardening a social and educational experience I knew I would be able to help others while also finally pursuing a career that was good for my soul. 

It was the best thing that I have ever done and I have never looked back.