A little bit about me…

I first started out as a Chef in the Royal Navy serving on various warships in operations across the globe. From there I ventured into civilian life continuing my career this time as a pastry chef working in a number of high end restaurants and hotels across Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Bristol and Bath.

Although I enjoyed cooking and being creative with food, I found it difficult to keep up with the unrealistic expectations of the hospitality industry, working long and unsociable hours in often stressful and aggressive environments.

I decided to take a leap of faith and change careers, working outside in fresh air and natural light, still working with my hands and being creative whilst keeping active and embracing the self healing mental properties of gardening.

I enrolled at Cannington Agricultural college and Studied the RHS Level 2 completing 8 challenging written exams in various topics of horticulture before achieving a full qualification with distinction in several of the exams.

Whilst studying at college I was introduced to the under 30s Young Horticulturalist of the Year (YHOTY) run by the Chartered Institute of Horticulture. This competition was designed to really challenge the contestants knowledge in every aspect of horticulture. The first stage was the heats, where contestants had to score the highest mark in a multiple choice exam. If you won the heats you proceeded through to the regional finals. Competing against other finalists from the region in a series of gruelling question and identification rounds. 10 in total. Just think of university challenge! Buzzer rounds, plant identifications, pests and diseases and direct questions, all in front of a live audience. And if you won, you would go through to nationals for another 10 rounds of mind numbing pain against the UKs best, for a chance to win bragging rights and a £2500 travel bursery to study plants anywhere in the world.

I’m Pleased to say I made it to the South west regional finals at Cannington College in 2018 and again at Reed Hall, Exeter University in 2019, competing against some of the most knowledgeable and talented gardeners from the likes of RHS Rosemoor, Eden Project and various other horticultural colleges

After leaving college I looked for work and with some encouragement from my college lecturers, I started my own business in Garden maintenance, working in a variety of different gardens across Weston-super-Mare and Banwell, providing services to domestic and commercial customers.