
What is your job?
I am a gardener, and I run an all-ladies gardening business covering the Reading area. There are 16 of us altogether and we have the best job! We usually garden in pairs, plus I manage it, and I have an admin who takes care of a the scheduling etc.
Tell me a little about what that entails day-to-day?
Due to a knee replacement I’m partly home-based at the moment, but getting back into being out and about. We have a schedule of jobs to cover, usually starting the first job around 9.30am. So a typical gardening day would be checking the weather first (ha!) and unless it’s pouring with rain, heading out with a carload full of tools to the first garden. We have a regular round and look after a lot of beautiful gardens, so it’s anything from weeding to pruning, to moving plants, giving advice and enjoying the nature, and peace and quiet. We decide our own schedules so some days I’ll finish at 11.30am and other days 4pm. It’s also about building relationships – some of our customers are quite lonely and enjoy our company as much as our gardening. It’s very rewarding.
How did you get into it?
It happened by chance. I had a part-time office job and a friend said she was looking for a gardener for someone she knew. I was reluctant as I didn’t feel I knew enough or was qualified, but she talked me into it, on the basis that my own garden always looked nice (I didn’t think so!!). So I took a chance and loved it and it just grew from there. I eventually had enough clients to give up my part time job.
What do you most enjoy about your role?
Being able to transform a space into something really beautiful, the companionship of the ladies and the joy it brings to our customers.
What qualities or personality traits do you have that you think make you successful in your role?
Being really passionate about it – I just love it! I think you also need to have an eye for what needs to be done to make a difference, especially if the garden is a bit overgrown when you first take it over. Having a vision is very important.
Do you have any tips for people who might like to do something similar?
Start small, perhaps with a neighbour or acquaintance, and build up from there. Look up any plants you don’t know and spend as much time as you can in your own garden trying things out.
If given the chance to do musical theatre for a living instead, would you take it?
Yes I would! I just love singing and dancing so it would be a dream, but in the meantime I’m lucky to have a day job I enjoy so much.

Join Emma and The Sainsbury Singers at South Hill Park this Autumn for this funny, energetic and heartwarming production.
9 to 5 The Musical
- October 2024
- The Wilde Theatre, Bracknell