Introducing the Muddy Trowel Team
Name: Steve F
Role to date: Seed planter – I thought we should do something to help when lockdown started and was so lucky that there were a bunch of brilliant friends who felt the same way.
Favourite plant & why: Dahlia – beautiful colours and amazing, almost mathematical, geometry.
Most memorable gardening experience: My childhood memories are full of gardens and plants. My great grandfather’s orchids, my great aunt and great uncle’s rows of carrots, my granny’s gooseberries, moving into new houses and sitting in the garden eating ice lollies before we had the keys; climbing trees; falling into beds of nettles; hot, hot days running under the sprinkler; scoring the perfect 1-2 with my brother, sipping a glass of Pimms for the first time.
What excites you the most about the Muddy Trowel relaunch? It’s been a joy starting up something that I know will bring a smile to people’s faces – it’s been a particular privilege working with growers, grafting hard to passing on expertise accumulated over generations.
Name: Dave W
Role to date: Operations and back-office tech, plus making a lot of tea (but we’re in lockdown so I am the only one drinking it!).
Favourite plant & why: Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia) as it reminds me of visiting Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens on the side of Table Mountain in Cape Town. It was an amazing view and a trip that showed me a country that was very different from my expectations.
Most memorable gardening experience: Never underestimate what it might take to dig a little veg patch. Ours needed a massive old (dead) tree digging out first. Only after a few days of digging we realised the roots went well over 6 feet down before they were thin enough to break the rest of the tree free (which still needed a 4×4 to pull it out)!
What excites you the most about the Muddy Trowel relaunch? The instant impact and joy we’ll be delivering to people.
Name: Hannah A-H
Role to date: Self-proclaimed emailer-in-chief, if you are a customer of Muddy Trowel or visited our website, you probably would have spoken to me at some-point!
Favourite plant & why: Aloe Vera, as it is useful and pretty (and saplings of Aloe Vera are called pups! How cute).
Most memorable gardening experience: I once thought I had got my mum a real (and very nice) hanging basket as a gift, only to discover when I got home from the garden centre and presented it to her, that it was plastic and 100% fake.
What excites you the most about the Muddy Trowel relaunch? I think our new products will be great, because as someone who lives in a London flat with very little outdoor space, it would be cool to be able get some outdoor plants to brighten up small spaces in a planet-friendly way.
Name: Mel W
Role to date: Gardening enthusiast, product strategy and project delivery.
Favourite plant & why: Salvias because they are so varied, colourful and so easy to grow.
Most memorable gardening experience: There are so many. I love germinating seeds in Spring, it’s hugely uplifting after dark, cold winters. This is my first year growing sunflowers from seed and one of them is nearly 3 metres tall! Although, I have been known to nurture seedlings with care and love only to find out they are common weeds…
What excites you the most about the Muddy Trowel relaunch? The anticipation of seeing how our customers react to our new products and website and that the Muddy Trowel concept is coming to fruition.
Name: Alun S
Role to date: Brand strategy
Favourite plant & why: Cacti and succulents (difficult to kill) and wild flowers.
Personal gardening experience: Buy a load of plants from a garden centre I like aesthetically but know nothing about. Plant. Kill. Repeat.
What excites you the most about the Muddy Trowel relaunch? Overcoming the above by an expert doing all the hard work.
Name: Harry C
Role to date: Digital design and development lead
Favourite plant & why: Snap dragons – my Nan always used to grow them in her garden!
Personal gardening experience: I went through a real green fingered phase when I was about 12 (or at least my parents did!) which came to a rather sad end when our veg patch was decimated by the local rabbits!
What excites you the most about the Muddy Trowel relaunch? I’m slightly biased but of course I’m excited to see the new website live and able to give our customers an even better experience. I’m also really excited to see how inventive our customers get with placing their muddy trowel pots in the garden, patio, roof and beyond!
Name: Ellie F
Role to date: Operations Executive – on the ground ops.
Favourite plant & why: Cacti, they’re easy to look after and sometimes they look really bizarre which I find hilarious
Most memorable gardening experience: I convinced my mum not to get rid of our veg beds this summer and planted courgettes amongst other things. The courgette plants have been doing so well that we’ve been eating courgette based meals for weeks….
What excites you the most about the Muddy Trowel relaunch? People who aren’t that in to gardening and plants can order a pot and see what all the hype is about!
Name: Jonni S
Role to date in MT: Nursery outreach and operations.
Favourite plant & why: Strawberry plants – my Mum has a whole patch back home so we get hand-picked fresh strawbs all summer!
Most memorable gardening experience: Nurturing “salad leaves” during lockdown – turned out to be weeds…
What excites you the most about the Muddy Trowel relaunch: Seeing happy Muddy Trowellers with their new plants!
Name: Simon F
Role to date: Finance Director.
Favourite plant & why: Gerberas because they are the standard flower that children draw, and they’re very happy looking flowers.
Most memorable gardening experience: Finding an interesting red stemmed plant sticking through our hedge got very expensive when it turned out to be Japanese knotweed.
What excites you the most about the Muddy Trowel relaunch? Having a new range of go-to gifts to send to people!
Name: Richard G
Role to date in MT: Online marketing.
Favourite plant & why: Daffodil; fond memories of them in my grandmother’s garden as a child.
Most memorable gardening discovery: Being lazy and deciding to use the leaf blower to try and clean compost out of the garden shed. Bad idea. Compost, it turns out is not breathable. Who knew?!
What excites you the most about the Muddy Trowel relaunch? Hearing stories from our customers about how much they enjoy the plants when in place; just like when we launched originally.
Name: Matt B
Role to date in MT: Creative Direction & Design
Favourite plant & why: ‘Bishop of Oxford’ – Incredibly simple but good to look at (like me)
Best/worst personal gardening anecdote: Won 1st prize at local ‘Grow your own ugly veg’ fayre 1992
What excites you the most about the Muddy Trowel relaunch? The simplicity, sustainability and joyfulness we will bring to peoples lives
Name: Tricia B
Role to date: Nursery recruitment and plant sourcing
Favourite plant & why: Sunflower – they always make me smile. I love watching them grow and they bring back happy memories of the time I cycled across France.
Most rewarding gardening experience: Gardening is full of surprise and delight – we grew strawberries for the first time this summer, only to find that our wonderful radish grew so much bigger! Can’t wait to harvest the broccoli, carrots and edible flowers soon!
What excites you the most about the Muddy Trowel relaunch? It’s brilliant when you see how happy we make customers when one of our deliveries arrives. It’s the proof that the seed we planted when we started Muddy Trowel is really starting to blossom. I love it when they share their photos and stories with us!
Name: Heather G
Role to date in MT: Marketing and Advisor
Favourite plant & why: Ornamental Alliums. As someone once said: “Who would expect so much glory from an onion?”
Best/worst personal gardening anecdote: My favourite thing has been planting vegetables for the first time with my 3 years old, and seeing how proud he is of his tomatoes and peas.
What excites you the most about the Muddy Trowel relaunch? Hearing the success stories of people who have been inspired to get more into gardening as a result of receiving their Muddy Trowel plants.
