About The Flower Mummy
My Story
Gardening, creativity and stories grown from the heart.
Welcome to The Flower Mummy’s Garden.
I’m Jan, a gardener, creative storyteller and lifelong lover of flowers. Through gardening, design and community, I share projects and ideas that celebrate creativity, connection and the joy of growing.
From growing flowers from seed to designing show gardens, supporting charities close to my heart and sharing the everyday magic of gardening, this space brings together the many things that inspire me.we have been able to turn our clients' yards into beautiful outdoor spaces.
About Me
I’m Jan also known as The Flower Mummy, a gardener, creative storyteller and lifelong lover of flowers. Through gardening, design and community, I share projects and ideas that celebrate creativity, connection and the joy of growing.
Roots
Creativity and growing things have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a family where making and nurturing were simply part of everyday life. My nana and mum loved baking and creative projects, and my papa was a keen gardener.
Some of my earliest memories are of baking Shah biscuits with my nana in the kitchen and spending time with my papa in his hexagonal greenhouse, fascinated by the quiet magic of plants growing.
Flowers became something my mum and I shared deeply together. We created arrangements for family celebrations, weddings and flower festivals, and I joined the junior floral art club when I was just seven years old. Those early experiences planted a lifelong love of flowers and creativity.
A Life of Creativity
Before gardening became the centre of what I now love, I was a primary school teacher, and later ran my own music education business for babies and young children, sharing the joy of music and creativity with families in those precious early years.
A lifelong love of musical theatre and performance has also shaped the way I think about storytelling and creativity.
A New Chapter
Life took an unexpected turn when I was diagnosed with cancer. The experience changed many aspects of my life, but during recovery gardening became a place of comfort, healing and hope.
What began as a quiet return to growing flowers gradually grew into something much bigger a creative outlet, a community and a new chapter.
Supporting others affected by cancer has also been an important part of my journey. I have volunteered with Macmillan Cancer Support as a one-to-one support volunteer and telephone buddy and founded a local Macmillan craft support group bringing people together through creativity. I also served as Communication Lead for the Bolton People Affected by Cancer user involvement group.
I am also proud to be a Willow Champion for the Willow Foundation, raising awareness, giving talks and supporting fundraising for the charity. Willow holds a special place in my heart as I was also a Willow Special Day beneficiary, after the charity organised a wonderful day for me following my treatment and life-saving surgery.
In 2020 I was honoured to receive the She Inspires Volunteer of the Year Award and was later chosen as North West Woman of the Year across all categories. Because the ceremony could not take place during the pandemic, the awards were presented on my doorstep a moment of kindness and celebration I will always remember.
Pat’s Cosmos
Losing my mum to cancer was one of the most difficult chapters of my life. We were incredibly close, and our shared love of flowers remains a thread that continues to run through everything I do.
Cosmos were always her favourite flower. Each year I grow them from seed and create small seed packs in her memory — #PatsCosmos inviting others to grow them too and, if they wish, make a donation to the charities that meant so much to us both: Willow and Macmillan Cancer Support.
It’s a simple act, but one that keeps her love of flowers blooming in gardens far beyond my own.
Growing Forward
Today, through The Flower Mummy’s Garden, I share my love of gardening, creativity and storytelling with a wonderfully supportive online community. My projects often bring together planting, symbolism and personal stories, reflecting the belief that gardens can hold meaning, memory and connection. In 2025 I created the Willow Moments and Memories Garden at BBC Gardeners’ World Live, a design celebrating connection and the importance of special memories. The garden was awarded Silver Merit and the show’s Best Interpretation of the Theme – “Cultivating Connections.” In 2026 I will be returning to BBC Gardeners’ World Live to create Threads of Life, a show garden exploring five decades of lived experience through planting, textiles and symbolism. For me, gardening is about far more than plants. It’s about creativity, community, resilience and hope — and the many ways nature helps us grow through life’s changing seasons.with every project.
Garden Stories
Gardens have a wonderful way of telling stories — through plants, memories and the people they connect. Here are some of the gardens and creative projects I have created.