At the same time that I was nursing fuchsia cuttings, my brother started to grow sweetpeas and chrysanthemums for show. In my early teens our family visited virtually all the local flower shows throughout the summer and autumn months. The dedication of the show gardener knows no end - I remember late nights of plants being selected and early mornings (and I mean early, about 3.00am) when the flowers would be taken to the show ground and petals perfectly arranged.

There's then a huge gapping gap of no gardening - as I went off to university and then found gainful employment. It wasn't until about nine years ago when I started work at Two Wests that I began to return to gardening again. I filled the windows of my flat with troughs full of flowers and when I bought my first house I had the joy of transforming a builder’s site into my own little garden. Months were spent plotting what I would grow and where before putting the first plant in place. Six years later I'm faced with a garden overflowing with trees, shrubs and flowers! I've even managed to squeeze in a greenhouse so I can raise my annuals from seed and have tasty greenhouse grown tomatoes in late summer.

So now it's a case of maintaining my garden and making small changes to get the best from the space. As we all know, keeping a garden in tip top condition can be a full time job.... and as I've got a full time job, work in the garden has to be fitted in around my free time. Rather than being simply a chore, a necessity to keep the weeds under control, working in my garden is a joy - even though it can be hard work! This is why I think I'm a gardener. I'm not an expert gardener by any means but I'm like lots of other gardeners. I'm fulfilled when my cuttings take, when the first snowdrop appears in the garden and in the summer when I can sit out surrounded by the fragrance of fresh flowers. I'm learning all the time, everyone has advice when if comes to gardening whether it's from my friends, from watching a gardening programme on TV or reading a gardening magazine, every year brings new plants to try, new ways of growing and new tools to test.