Born and bred in Hokitika (West Coast, South Island) , my partner and I moved to Christchurch in 1994, when our daughter was 3.  I missed the Coast greatly - especially (you guessed it) the huge downpours of rain on the tin roof.  I had always enjoyed gardening and designing areas in our small cottage in Hokitika we had purchased when we were just 17, constantly collecting rocks, driftwood, shells and things to put into our yard.  Consequently, our daughter had one of the flashest sandpits in Hokitika...

 

When that daughter turned 5, I began studying to become a landscape architect at Lincoln University full-time as an adult student.  I graduated four years later with a BLA Honours (Bachelor of Landscape Architecture) in 2000 - one of the best things I've ever done.  I've been happily designing ever since, taking the important step of starting my own design business in 2008 while also carrying out the Marketing Managerial role at one of the largest tree nurseries in Canterbury, Southern Woods Tree Nursery.

 

I tend to specialise in residential and lifestyle blocks, enjoying the challenges and opportunities each different job brings...  That's not to say I don't dabble in commercial design.  Living in the Selwyn area until 2020, a lot of my clients are in that area, but I have been known to travel back to the Coast to design, to North Canterbury, and even as far as The Chathams, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

 

I believe it is my West Coast heritage which makes me extremely approachable and transparent to deal with.  I like to spend plenty of time with my clients during the design stage so that I'm sure their needs and wants in the garden are completely taken on board to be fully catered for in the final design. I'm honest and full of enthusiasm for what I do, and I love to push the boundaries.

 

I have been involved with several magazines, and was delighted to have an input into 'Native by Design' - an inspirational book focussed on using New Zealand natives in landscape design by Michelle Frey and Dr Ian Spellerberg.  Incidentally, this book was the catalyst which ironically lead me back to the Coast to be involved in what has ended up being one of my all-time favourite designs in Lake Brunner, still in progress.

 

I am now not only a doting mother of one (now all grown up at 30), but also a very proud Nana of three, adding another whole new dimension to my life.  I love nothing more than to take the family on road trips back to the Coast to stroll on the beach and in the bush, eat whitebait and watch the sunsets.

 

These days, I reside in Somerfield (a city girl - who would have thought!), and have returned to Southern Woods, where I combine my part-time role on the Retail Team (setting up stunning displays, trimming topiaries and sharing lots of banter with clients and customers) with my design business - two roles that compliment each other very nicely indeed.  Not only that, but I am now delighted to offer a soft-gardening service, where I put my experienced 'gardener' hat on, and complete on-going or one-off gardening jobs which includes weeding, shrub and small-medium hedge trimming, and the clipping of topiaries. I am well-known as one of those 'active relaxers', and so this is the icing on the cake for me, and hopefully for all those clients who employ me as their gardener!