Our Story
Our story
In the spring of 2010 I walked through the gates of the Dorothy Clive Garden as a junior gardener and didn't really leave for the next twelve years. By the end I was Head Gardener, looking after one of the most beloved private gardens on the Staffordshire–Shropshire border — twelve acres of woodland glades, an alpine scree, a Victorian quarry, and a long, lovingly-maintained perennial border that you only ever appreciate when you've weeded all of it yourself.
What that decade taught me, more than anything else, was patience. The best gardens are not designed in a single afternoon. They are tended into being over years, by people who know which plants belong, when to step in, and — much more importantly — when to leave well alone.
ZV Horticulture was born out of a quiet wish to bring that approach to private gardens across the Midlands. We're not a maintenance round, and we're not a one-day blitz crew. We're a small, considered horticultural practice that visits when it matters and walks away leaving things visibly better than we found them.
A short timeline
First spring at Dorothy Clive Garden
Junior gardener on the woodland team. Learned to identify ten new plants a week and to weed without trampling anything.
RHS qualifications completed
Royal Horticultural Society Levels 2 and 3 in horticulture, plant identification and garden management.
Appointed Head Gardener
Took over the day-to-day management of the gardens, the team and the seasonal planting plans.
ZV Horticulture founded
Left the staff at Dorothy Clive to start a small, plant-led practice serving private gardens across the Midlands.
Working across four counties
From walled gardens in Solihull to wildflower meadows in Shropshire — and still learning every week.
Like what you see?
We'd love to walk your garden with you. The first conversation is always free.