Meet The Team

Peter McDermott, "Head Gardener" or Managing Director!

Peter has spent almost 30 years in the horticultural industry, spending many of those years getting his hands dirty and actually growing things for a living after. From an early age he fell in love with the magic of growing plants and what started as a hobby at the age of 8, growing just a few lettuce plants in a corner of the garden, has turned to a lifelong career, after enjoying his studies and time spent at Bicton Horticultural College in Devon, he has never looked back! Growing up on his family nursery in South Devon, where he and his father grew over 300 varieties of fuchsia and geranium as well as various cut-flower crops including perpetual carnations, Peter developed a real understanding of plants and how to grow them successfully.

These days, travelling through Europe looking for new and innovative plants for gardeners to grow is one of his favourite past times and he has developed a keen eye for the new and interesting. He has worked for and run several large mail order gardening companies, where he has gained unrivalled expertise in the UK gardening sector. Peter runs our business, is our marketing expert, and keeps everyone in order - or at least he tries to! A long term self pronounced kettle-dodger, he rarely makes the tea, but does enjoy a nice strong cuppa - (ideally with a piece of fruit cake) often whilst sitting in his garden after a spot of mowing, pruning and planting!

Expert on: Fruit and vegetables, bulbs, bedding plants and hanging baskets.
Favourite Plants: Fuchsia, Agapanthus, Gerbera & my lawn - especially when it has stripes on it!
Own garden: Large formal gardens in Lincolnshire, with new borders, mature trees and lots exciting new projects!
If I grew just one thing to eat, it would be: It would be strawberries - but I would have to grow an apple tree or two as well!
Top Tip: Garden little and often and concentrate on the things that matter most - mow your lawn and trim the edges every week in the summer and hoe weeds in between plants on sunny days.
Pet gardening hate: Scruffy, neglected gardens - it seems such a waste!

Martin Rowe, "Assistant Head Gardener" or Horticultural Director!

Martin has worked extensively for large nurseries across the UK for over 20 years since Horticultural College, having grown up on his family's renowned chrysanthemum nursery in Somerset.

He has a wealth of unique plant information, and works with growers across the UK and Europe to find the best plants, of the best quality. He buys most of our plants, and runs the pack house team too!

Expert on: Trees, shrubs and perennials
Favourite Plants: Callicarpa (Beauty Berry) and Magnolias
Own garden: Cottage garden borders and shrubbery, with fruit orchard, and "tropical style" terrace in Somerset.
If I grew just one thing to eat, it would be: Salad potatoes - so easy, results guaranteed.
Top Tips: You can rarely harm a shrub or perennial by pruning it back too much, only by too little. If in doubt, hack it back!!
Pet gardening hate: Over-tidy gardens (weeds can look nice too) and Chelsea Flower Show (don't ask!)

Will Massey - Head Of Customer Service

Will looks after all of our 'offline' advertising - so if you see a mistake in one of our catalogues or adverts, it is all his fault! Luckily, he also heads our Customer Service team - in charge of looking after all of our valued customers - so he's the ideal man to put things right too! He lives in Deeping with a young family and loves a summer's day spent in the garden.

Expert on: Picking toy cars up off the lawn before mowing!
Favourite Plants: Fruit trees, chillies, herbs and anything that looks big and bold in a patio pot.
Own garden: A modest garden and patio in a new-ish housing estate. It's a "family garden" complete with playhouse, guinea pigs, a puppy - and half the neighbourhood's kids. The veg plot is at the planning stage!
If I grew just one thing to eat, it would be: Chillies - any that are full of flavour and hot, hot, hot - although I like the idea of growing hops to brew my own beer!
Pet gardening hate: Being precious about grass - it's for kicking footballs around, grazing (if you're a guinea pig) or for sitting on it in the sun. Stripes are great, but not if you aren't allowed to run around on them!

Richard Llewellyn - 'Techie'

Richard is our resident 'techie' looking after everything technical along with the website. Having worked in the gardening industry for a number of years, managing websites, Richard recently moved to a new house with a bare garden so can start filling the garden ready for the Summer BBQ's! By being in charge of the images he already knows which ones will look good.

If you want to show off your images to help give him ideas and share with us why not send them into us at [email protected] (they might even get put up on the website)

Expert on: Gadgets to make life easier.
Favourite Plants: Palm Trees, Bay Trees and other low maintenance, easy to manage and instant impact plants.
Own garden: At the moment quite a bare garden as most plants used as toys by a new puppy.
If I grew just one thing to eat: Potatoes, nothing like picking fresh potatoes and can do so much with them.
Top Tip: Water everything!
Pet gardening hate: Cutting the grass! Robotic lawnmower is a must!