Everything Comes to She Who Waits

Well, it’s only taken 50 years, but I’ve finally achieved my ambition! Let me explain. I never really knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. Back in the day, when you only took two or three ‘A’ Levels, I chose English and Art, as I loved writing and drawing. So, when it came to decision time, I hedged my bets and applied for a One Year Art Foundation Course at Hornsey College of Art and a One Year Periodical Journalism course at the London College of Printing.

We’ve all had those Sliding Doors moments when a relatively small event can drastically alter the course of one's life, creating two distinct parallel narratives. So, when two offer letters arrived by the same post, I was faced with a monumental choice. And I’m afraid to say that my criteria were somewhat skewed. With very little self-belief or confidence, I chose what I considered to be the safest option. Hornsey was nearer to home than Elephant and Castle, and journalism might require me to travel to far flung places, which scared me.

So I chose the Art Foundation course, and at this point I would love to say that the rest is history. But of course, it was just the beginning. The Art Foundation course led to a degree in Fashion Design, which in turn, led to a very successful career in retail, first as a buyer for Harvey Nichols, Fenwicks, and Dickins and Jones, then as a Sales Manager at Liberty, Regent Street. Ironically, this led to a fair amount of the dreaded foreign travel and at no point did I work in Fashion!

But what’s all this got to do with gardening, I hear you ask? I fell in love with gardening pretty much around the same time as I fell in love with my husband David. Soon after we were married, we bought our first house with a pocket-sized garden and a mad next-door neighbour called Amanda - but I digress - whose enthusiasm for her small plot was infectious. And when we subsequently moved to our current home, I was hooked, and yes, the rest really is history.

Inevitably now it seems, my hobby became a career. And sharing my passion through words soon followed, first as a plant triallist and blogger for Thompson and Morgan, then as a contributor to Garden News, and now at long last, I’ve reached my goal! My own column, in Elysium Lifestyle magazine, ‘The online publication for creative women and inspired female entrepreneurs’. Check it out.

Love, Caroline x