Team Talk – Meet Laura

Laura is a part of the Plant Market team who focusses on all aspects of retail and looks after our approach to sustainability.

What attracted you to a career in horticulture?

I had really enjoyed transforming my garden over the years (with a lot of hard graft!) from a bland washing green into my own little oasis.  My interest in plants really grew and I began to think of changing from an office based job into horticulture. I have also always loved the outdoors and the thought of a job where I could enjoy being outside every day was really appealing.

What is your ideal garden?

My ideal garden would have a woodland feel to it and be very informal, a bit wild and care free.  It would be shady and sensory, jam packed with plants of different textures and shades of green and very calming and peaceful.  There would be some sort of water feature too as I find the sound of running water very relaxing.

What do you plant in your outdoor space?

I have a lot of different varieties of shrubby Salvia, which provide a fantastic display of flowers for months on end and the bees absolutely adore them.  I absolutely love Salvia Hot Lips!  My climbers are all pollinator friendly with a mix of different honeysuckle and Pyracantha.  I also have a shaded area where I have created a space for bugs with lots of leaf litter and log piles and planted up with ferns, primrose and Hellebores.

What’s the one thing we should all be doing to be more sustainable in our gardens/outdoor spaces?

We can create more biodiverse gardens by planting a range of pollinator friendly plants to encourage a variety of insects. The outdoor space doesn’t need to be large, for instance, a planter full of nectar rich herbs would be a great addition to a sunny balcony or a window box planted up with the right mix of flowers can help to support our pollinators.