While I’ve always loved the outdoors and learning about nature, I didn’t ever think I would end up working with plants or in gardens.  If you asked me several years ago where I would be today, I would have said in a good job in the city, working hard and climbing the career ladder. So what changed?

When I reached my late 20’s I realised working indoors – whether that was at a desk or out meeting people – simply wasn’t fulfilling me.  At the time I was living in a flat in the west end of Glasgow – life was good, but what I really wanted was access to an outdoor space I could call my own.

I knew something had to change. I got on the internet and put my name down on several waiting lists for allotment plots around the city.  Two years later I inherited a huge vacant plot and from that moment onwards, I spent every spare moment I had there.

After a year of avid practical and theoretical learning on and about my allotment, I decided to enrol in a course to study horticulture with the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, and two years after that, studying through evenings and weekends, I received my RHS qualifications.

It was not an easy decision to make to leave a well-paid job and take the plunge to pursue a new career as a gardener.  I got a job with a local commercial gardening company where I put all of my theoretical skills into practice, and 2 years later I decided to set up my own business – The Bonnie Gardener.

What I love most about gardening is that every day is a school day – the more you learn, the more you discover that you need to learn more. I have a huge passion for plants and for gardens – the outdoors is where I spend the vast majority of my time and my energy.

It is my firm belief that everybody deserves to have a beautiful outdoor space they can call their own – to have a garden is incredibly rewarding, not only aesthetically, but physically and mentally too.

If you would like to find out more, please get in touch.

Nicola Todd-Macnaughton, The Bonnie Gardener

.