About The Gardening Shoe

Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Gardening Shoe. The name came about because in the Shoesmith family there is Little Shoe, Big Shoe and Young Shoe, and for fear of becoming the kind of Shoe I didn't want to be, I swiftly grabbed the moniker Gardening Shoe and headed off into the Blogosphere. 

I am unable to remember a time when I didn't garden. I was about eight years old when I embarked on my first major landscaping project. I secretly dug, lined and filled a pond with water and finished it off with a big bucket of frogspawn. Having sited it in an overgrown patch at the end of the garden, no one noticed what I had been up to until we were suddenly inundated with frogs. Then I was in trouble. Thankfully Mum recognised my need to nurture things and bought me some carnation seeds. They flowered incredibly well and I became hooked on growing plants.

I grew up in a suburb which stank of weedkiller at the weekend. I hated that smell; and so began my lifelong passion for organic gardening. We grew fruit and vegetables at home and if I wasn't eating food from my own garden, I would be at the allotments where my friends' parents weeded and toiled while we children spent long summers popping pea pods and stuffing the contents into our mouths along with plump raspberries, and the occasional broad bean - yes, all at once. It will come as no surprise to you to learn that I still grow my own food, although I would like to point out that I am slightly fussier about the fruit/veg combinations these days (only slightly).

When we were very young - receiving the Centenary Prize
from the President of the RHS in 2003

Nowadays I earn my living as a garden designer, horticultural consultant and writer. I have been given the occasional award, which is lovely, especially since I enjoy what I do. In all these years, my passion for gardening has remained undiminished. The garden continuously beckons, and I am fortunate to be able to escape outdoors nearly every day. My hope for The Gardening Shoe is that it will encourage you in your gardening life. 

Please feel free to comment on posts. It is always wonderful to hear from you. If you are looking for a writer for a project, I can be contacted via my website http://www.sarahshoesmith.com or @gardeningshoe1 on http://www.twitter.com  All the photos in the blogposts are my own, unless otherwise stated (like the one of me above - that isn't mine). If you would like to use one, please ask me first. I look forward to hearing from you.