I'm a professional gardener, working in a number of private gardens in and around Wantage. I also propagate and sell hardy plants, along with a small selection of garden items.

I sell mostly to local gardeners and Garden Designers: I sell spring bulbs via the internet as well, and I have a couple of plant stalls each year.

Regarding my photos, on this site, What You See Is What You Get. Rather than stock photos, I use actual photos of the actual plants, in my actual garden! You can be assured that the plants you buy will be very much as seen. Wherever possible I have a hand holding the pot, to give you an idea of the size of the plant.

All my plants are propagated in my own garden, here in South Oxfordshire: they are local plants, accustomed to our local climate, and absolutely NONE of my plants are imported: not from another country, not even from another county! They are toughened up by my cold, east-facing situation, and are strong and healthy.

When out gardening, I normally work a four hour morning and then a three hour afternoon: most of my week is filled with my regulars, but I try to keep a little time free for one-off work.

I'm not a contractor, I don't have a team, so I don't usually undertake "makeovers", although over the last couple of years I have installed a number of easy-care vegetable gardens for clients wanting to reduce their food miles, and I suppose that you could call them make-overs.

This one was shoehorned into the end of a very long, thin, garden, where it just about gets enough sun!

This one is about the smallest so far, measuring just 8' x 4', and set in a decorative shingled garden. As you can see, room for courgettes, carrots, dwarf french beans and a selection of spring onion and lettuce: flanked by raspberry bushes, and a dwarf apple tree, making a well-balanced contribution to "Growing Your Own" without taking up too much space.

I tend to get very fond of my clients' gardens (and my clients, of course) and am often involved with redesigning as well as doing the actual work. I prefer to work in fairly large gardens, and yes, I work all the year round, weather permitting. I have excellent local references, which can be supplied on request.

Here's a particular passion of mine: topiary. ("Can you tell what it is yet?") This used to be a fairly neglected small Nitida bush, and now it's a snail called Brian - well, what else? - and he can be viewed during the biennial Letcombe Bassett Open Gardens day, which will be next year, 2009.

In the meantime, I've had a stall at a couple of Plant Sales this year, which I enjoyed very much (a chance to meet me and inspect the plants for yourself!) and I've already been booked for a couple next year: I'll expand the details as they come up.

My largest gardens are around 2-3 acres, and this is my smallest garden: available for public viewing in East Hanney, outside the Village Hall. Not the British Legion hall, round the corner past the mill towards West Hanney. It's a tiny triangle, which measures maybe 10' per side, and was planted up by a lovely lady called Margaret a few years ago, as the council, having built it, didn't seem to be doing anything with it. I took it over a couple of years ago, and I have spent this time making a model castle on top of an elephant (you can tell I'm a Londoner, can't you?). Well, that's what it's supposed to be, but so far no-one has correctly identified it, so I may yet convert it into West Hanney church.

Rachel the Gardener up to her knees in a shrubbery.

And finally, here I am up to my knees in a shrubbery, which used to be a very neglected potato patch. The owners wanted it cleared and converted into an easy-care area with interest and colour all year round, with the emphasis on contrasting foliage and "easy-care"!

This is the result two years after planting: the plants were bought locally or supplied by myself, and were on average about a foot tall when new, so you can see that they've filled out very nicely.

Well, that's enough about me: please do have a look at the site, I hope you find it easy to navigate and interesting to read. If you wish to contact me about gardening, my phone number is 07867 571682: do please leave a message if I don't answer straight away, as I don't take calls when I'm driving, or when I'm working. Otherwise, do feel free to e-mail me for a more relaxed response.