I spent 36 years in the IT industry as a business analyst/product manager in the financial sector. I have always had a love of gardening and I probably took the wrong career path but, hey, it paid the bills.

I took the RHS General exams in 2004 to further my knowledge of horticulture.

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I was a Warfield parish councillor from 2019-2023.

I am a past chair of the Warfield Environment Group and our group gets involved in a range of activities from litter picking, nest box building, tree, hedge and bulb planting, tree surveys and rhodie bashing.

I was also the founder and chair of Warfield Grow and Share, a community allotment of 15 volunteers at the Jealotts Hill Community Landshare.

Both groups have received Outstanding RHS IYN assessments over the years.

It was these groups that led to my interest in helping out on the Thames and Chilterns In Bloom committee in 2017. I thought that my IT skills could be of use to the group and I was also very keen to see IYN from the 'other side' as an assessor of other groups. It is enormous fun and very inspiring to see small groups of people rolling up their sleeves, grabbing a spade and transforming a space into a floral wonderland.

I am a yoga addict as this brings calmness to my life and I am convinced it stops me getting too many aches and pains after a day in the garden. I am a true believer that getting into the great outdoors is good for the soul - it should be prescribed on the NHS for the nations' well being.