Mum's garden design success after career change

Jane Eastwood has now retrained in horticulture after moving to the Kent countryside

A mum-of-two from Kent who retrained in horticulture after suffering postnatal anxiety twice in five years is to have one of her designs shown at a national gardening show next week.

Jane Eastwood, from Hawkhurst, is now a student gardener at Hole Park in Rolvenden after leaving the civil service where she worked as a copywriter.

After spending last year as an apprentice where she was mentored by Hole Park's head gardener Quentin Stark, Ms Eastwood started bringing her own designs to life.

Now she has two designs going on show to the public this summer, including The Newborn Garden which will be on display at Gardeners' World Live in Birmingham.

The Newborn Garden is designed to be "a welcoming and peaceful space for anyone looking after a newborn baby"

Ms Eastwood said she reached a career crossroads after giving birth to her second daughter.

She said: "I couldn't face having quite a demanding London-based job with two children whilst living outside of London, and I also needed for my own mental health to do something that was outside, something creative, something with nature."

The mum-of-two first signed up for a garden design mini-course at Hole Park, after which she was introduced to a work and retrain scheme by assistant head gardener Joe Archer.

Mrs Eastwood handed in her notice after securing a student apprentice role at the Rolvenden grounds.

The Newborn Garden design is intended to be a "welcoming and peaceful space for anyone looking after a newborn baby".

Ms Eastwood said: "I know it can often be stressful and lonely looking after a newborn baby, so I wanted to create a place where people can sit privately but also connect with others in the space if they want to."

Her second design, The Millennium Garden, went on display last month.

She said: "I wanted the design to compliment the Terracotta garden on the other side of the house, which is all hot reds and oranges, and create a lovely west-facing evening view.

"I couldn't believe it when they said that they loved my design and wanted to go ahead with it."

Gardeners' World Live will take place from 12-15 June.