About The Flower Mummy
My Story
Gardening, creativity and stories grown from the heart.
Welcome to The Flower Mummy's Garden. This is the place where gardens become stories, flowers hold memories and creativity helps us connect. Here you'll find gardening inspiration, meaningful design, seasonal ideas and Chapters of Life sharing the moments, people and experiences that have shaped me along the way.
About Me
I'm Jan, also known as The Flower Mummy
I'm a gardener, floral artist, designer, storyteller and lifelong lover of flowers. Creativity has always been at the heart of who I am, and flowers have been woven through every chapter of my life. Looking back, I realise my love of gardening first took root in my Papa's hexagonal greenhouse, although I didn't know it then. It blossomed through creating floral art with my Mum and has grown into a lifelong passion for gardening, flowers and creativity.
From sowing seeds to designing award-winning gardens and supporting communities and charities close to my heart, this space brings together the things that matter most to me.
I hope you'll find inspiration, encouragement and a reminder that even after life's hardest seasons, beautiful things can still grow.
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, growing and nurturing were simply part of everyday life. My nana and mum loved baking and creative projects, and my Papa found joy in tending his beloved hexagonal greenhouse and restoring antique clocks.
Some of my happiest childhood memories are of baking Shah biscuits with my nana in the kitchen and spending time in Papa's greenhouse, fascinated by the magic of watching seeds grow into something beautiful.
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. Looking back, I realise those moments were where the roots of everything I do today were quietly taking hold.
A Life of Creativity
Alongside gardening and floral art, creativity found many different expressions throughout my life. I became a primary school teacher before later running my own music education business for babies and young children, sharing the joy of music, imagination and creativity with families.
A lifelong love of musical theatre and performance
also shaped the way I tell stories today.
A New Chapter
Cancer changed the course of my life in ways I could never have imagined. As I continue to navigate the ongoing impact of cancer and the loss of my mum, gardening remains my sanctuary, a place of comfort, healing and hope. What began as a source of solace has grown into so much more: a creative outlet, a supportive community, meaningful connection and an inner strength.Sharing my garden, my creativity and my story reminds me that, even in life's most difficult seasons, we can still make a positive difference in the lives of others.
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.
Charity and Community
Giving back and supporting others has become an important part of my journey.
I have volunteered with Macmillan Cancer Support as a one-to-one support volunteer and telephone buddy, and previously ran a Macmillan craft support group bringing people together through creativity.
I am also a proud Willow Champion for the Willow Foundation, helping to raise awareness, give talks and support fundraising for the charity. Willow organised a Special Day for me following my treatment and surgery, and being able to give back to the charity is incredibly meaningful.
Many of my projects aim to bring people together through gardening, creativity and shared experiences.