If you’re a regular reader of the PlantGrow blog you would have seen that Amy from Chickandveg kindly shared her views on growing pollinator-friendly blooms. After launching this blog we were inundated with tremendous feedback from our customers suggesting that they wanted to see more, equally we wanted the same so we decided to do something about it!  We’re excited to announce that Amy has joined team purple as a PlantGrow Champion! You will all be seeing a lot more of Amy as she supports the rest of us PlantGrower’s spread the word about how important it is to garden sustainably.

Amy is a full-time UX consultant in the design industry, but is happiest when she’s pottering around her cottage garden in West Norfolk. Before the pandemic, she spent a lot of time working in London, but in some ways working from home has been a blessing – less commuting means more time in the garden! Her garden is an escape from her busy day job and she enjoys it with her fiancé, their springer spaniel Oliver and their 8 chickens.

Amy has wonderful memories of making mud pies in the garden with her sister, and taking part in sunflower growing competitions. But she only really started gardening when she and her fiancé moved to their cottage.

“The garden was so overgrown and unloved and was used more like a bin than a place to enjoy by the previous owners! We had to clear it to see what we were working with and I’m honest, we still find a lot of rubbish but we’re getting there.”

There was a little patch down the end of the garden which was all gravel and home to a wobbly shed. As soon as Amy saw it, she knew it was going to be her little haven. For the first year, Amy focused on trying to plan the space, working out where the sun fell, where the frost pockets were and figuring out what she could fit in. By the second year she had a purple shed, a greenhouse and 8 chickens!

Gardening does so much for Amy, both physically and mentally, and she’s passionate about sharing its value with others. To her, growing organically is more than just saying goodbye to chemicals; she grows organically because she wants to ensure her garden is the healthiest it can be.

“My biggest measure of this is looking for the wildlife and nature that comes to my patch… The more bees and insects the better. Okay, some are not as desirable as others, but I quite like finding natural ways to manage things. And if it doesn’t work, I’ve only lost to nature and I’m okay with that!

Why we’re delighted that Amy’s joined the PlantGrow Champions

Amy cares for all animals, whether it’s her dog, chickens or insects and bees, and this aligns with our belief that we need to look after our wildlife to protect our environment for generations to come. We’re thrilled that she uses PlantGrow products to care for her garden and encourage insects and bees to use it.

“I use PlantGrow because I know the team care passionately about seeing their customer’s gardens flourish. I know this because having had lots of chats with the team, they are such a lovely bunch! I’m so excited to use more PlantGrow products in my garden this year. I’ve already fertilised my roses, mulched my beds and started to feed my seedlings and I’m so looking forward to the season ahead!”