Royston graduate wins prestigious flower show award for her first ever built garden

A green fingered garden designer from Royston has won a coveted award – just a year after graduating.

Rachel Pocock, who also works part time as a physiotherapist at Lister Hospital, won the Silver-Gilt medal at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show with a company she and a fellow graduate set up.

It is the first garden they have ever had built.

The 48-year-old established VaRa Garden Design with 40-year-old Vanessa Hoch, a marketing manager at Eden Academy, after the pair studied together at Capel Manor College in Enfield.

Rachel said: “It’s been fantastic, the whole thing has just been a brilliant experience and very rewarding. Everybody who has helped has been great.”

The pair have worked hard designing and creating the garden around family commitments and work.

The simple but effective designs have proved to be a winning formula for garden fans, Rachel said, as people can visualise how they would look in their own back yards.

She said: “It’s really nice to give people inspiration.”

VaRa Garden Design offers different services, including complete garden redesigns, new planting schemes and consultation visits.

You can find out more about Rachel and Vanessa’s work by visiting the company’s website at www.varagardendesign.co.uk.