1) My World of Art & Gardening

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN ~ My art and gardening journey began in 2023, when a devastating health diagnosis changed my life abruptly, dramatically, and overnight. But out of that tectonic shift came something unexpected: a quieter, slower, and quite literally more grounded way of living and creating.

As an experienced designer, my working life had once meant travelling across the UK and the Mediterranean, immersed in every stage of a project — from the first spark of an idea, through design and construction, to handing the finished space over to clients in the worlds of restaurant, bar, and cruise ship design. Now, my journey looked altogether different: finding my way back from mental darkness — shadowed by the very real possibility that my diagnosis could be terminal — towards a kind of mental blooming, simply by sitting at a table and painting flowers in watercolour, all day, every day.

I knew my recovery would be a long road, so I made a decision: to turn my modest back garden into an outdoor flower-painting studio. It gave me an abundance of blooms and small wildlife to draw and paint, right at my back door.

This blog will be where I share how the garden is looking and flowering through the seasons, and showcase the floral mix I've planted — and will go on planting — in the years to come.