Plant Lovers

By Jennet Ward, near Bournemouth. Jennet is turning to Shoot to help keep busy gardening and to stay healthy, safe and calm during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

As well as growing and studying Japanese plants, Mark Griffiths and his partner Yoko Otsuki sometimes create gardens with them. In these, Mark’s horticultural expertise combines with the aesthetic sense and traditional values that Yoko learnt from her late father, the maker of one of the most beautiful private gardens in Northern Japan.  

“There is nothing better than seeing a totally overgrown, wild and unruly garden that has the potential of being beautiful” - my thoughts when I first saw our garden ten years ago ... which after a lot of hard work is now indeed beautiful!

By Alasdair Busby, our Easter competition social media winner. Alasdair says "I think Shoot is a brilliant concept and I am delighted to have won the competition."

Lucky winner James from Faringdon, Oxfordshire won the Husqvarna Automower® worth over £3,000 in our first sponsor competition which ran during Easter 2017! Congratulations to James and his wife Deborah.

Shoot member Simon is building a garden oasis in Turkey. The garden is still being developed and Simon turned to Shoot to help plan out the space using our newly improved garden planner software.

My beautiful Oxfordshire garden was revitalised with the help of Mark Griffiths. Sheltered by old walls and high fences, the garden that surrounds my North Oxford home covers about 750 square metres.

Semi-retirement transformed the gardening habits of Shoot community leader Barrie Hedges. Where once he struggled to find time for a "never very productive" allotment and a few flowers and shrubs at home, now he has been able to immerse himself in his long-time hobby.

By garden designer Faith Ramsay. I am surprised that I have become a garden designer, as I came from a family without a green thumb between them. I always loved plants and flowers as a child, but I didn't have a clue what to do with or how to grow them.

Rob tells us about his Kent garden and using the Husqvarna auto mower. Sponsored article May 2017.

Maggie Jameson has developed from a novice gardener trying to identify flowering plants and weeds into a very enthusiastic and successful gardener all thanks to Shoot. She has now given up her RHS membership in favour of Shoot as she gets so much more out of it.