About Chris Jesson - the home of Groovy Gardening
My Story
A passionate career changer into horticulture who, in his mid 30s, is in the middle of an exciting journey, mixed between showcasing the length and breath of what our sector has to offer and getting hands in the soil. Established in 2021, Groovy Gardening has developed a social media footing and can assist you. Now relocated to Guernsey in the Channel Islands for a paradise new start in life as a head gardener in a hotel supervising the development of their outside spaces .
Services
- Professional Gardener
- Brand Ambassador and Collaborations
- Advocate for autistic gardeners
- Narrator/Audio books/Voiceovers
- Garden and Show Tours
- TV presenting
- Public speaking/Garden Talks
- Written garden media
Relevant Experience
- Head Gardener, Le Pommier Hotel, Guernsey (Nov 2024-present)
- Self-employed Assistant Gardener seasonal contract in a 12ha Lincolnshire private garden (May-Nov 2024)
- Freelance horticultural advocate in the industry (May 2024-present)
- Gardening Team Leader, Autism East Midlands (Sept 2023-May 2024)
- Trained at Easton Walled Gardens in Lincolnshire (until January 2024)
- Garden Media Guild Committee Member - 2024 to present
- PlantGrow Champion (2023, reappointed 2024)
- Greenfingers Charity Ambassador
- Former Garden Volunteer, National Trust (Clumber Park/Wentworth Castle) and Renishaw Hall/Bardney Manor
- Probationary Member of the Garden Media Guild (GMG)
- Young People in Horticulture Association (YPHA) Regional Coordinator for the East Midlands, 2024.
- Member of the Hardy Plants Society
Awards and Accolades
- Winner, PlantGrow Gardengram Ball Awards 2024 for Instagram Content
- Winner, Unofficial Instagram Garden Awards 2023 for favourite accounts
- Receipt of several previous awards in previous capacities for planning excellence and for roles in supporting young people into the planning industry
- Sole recipient of the University of Sheffield Chancellors’ medal on graduation for services to disabled people.
My Work
- Commissioned for award shortlisted Product Launch and pitch at GLEE 2024 for Meadow View Stone Eden Collection
- Commissioned for 2024 planting engagements at RHS Chelsea speaking engagements at Harrogate Flower Show and planting /show garden hosting at BBC Gardeners World Live
- Commissioned as guest for various gardening podcasts through 2024
- Guest writer for the Garden Folk Magazine March and September 2024 issues
- Guest blogger for the Gardens with Disabilities Trust, August 2022
- Interviewed in Modern Gardens Magazine, February 2023 issue
- Interviewed by BBC Radio York covering Harrogate Spring Flower Show
- Guest of the ‘Tales from the Potting Bench’ Podcast with Adam Kirtland
- Guest of the ‘Plant Based Podcast’ with Michael Perry and Ellen Mary
- Previous guest of Ann-Marie Powell’s ‘myrealgarden’ Sunday School and the Mike the Gardener Sunday Stroll lives.myrealgarden’ Sunday School and the Mike the Gardener Sunday Stroll lives.
- Presenter of the ‘Giving Garden' designed by Leigh Johnstone, RHS Hampton Court Flower Show 2023
- Written collaborations with David Austin Roses on wellbeing and the rose
- Presenter of the ‘Life Force Garden', designed by Kim O’Brien, BBC Gardeners World Live Autumn Fair Audley End, 2023