About Us
We craft gardens, feasts & escapes that nourish people & places
We design spaces & experiences that re-connect you with what nature looks, smells, sounds & feels like & most importantly how vital this is for our health & that of this planet we call home.
CLIENT TESTIMONIAL
“After a year of difficult health issues, immersing myself in the healing and nourishing experience that Two Green Shoots provide, felt very special indeed. From the minute I arrived with my partner it was clear that it was going to be an “experience” like no other. Every morsel we ate was home grown, hand made and the flavours and offerings confirmed that. Sleeping in the luxurious tent with it’s own wood burning stove and rocking chairs, solar lights and the sounds of nature at its best, was simply fabulous. There’s nothing quite like slipping into sleep with the fire creating a light show and the sound of the trees rustling overhead. It was so joyful watching the hens emerge from their tree house in the morning ready for their day of foraging in the beautiful gardens. George the resident canine added his wonderful energy to the scene and I even met a frog on the drive-way. I left feeling replenished and nourished in body and spirit. Thank you both so much!”
Guest . The Botanical Bell Tent . Summer 2020
Read on to meet the Two Green Shoots, discover their ‘Garden of Re-Imagination’ & dig deeper into their story….
Kloë
- BSc in Zoology with Conservation
- MPhil in Sustainable Development
- Permaculture Design with the Permaculture Association
- Professional Member of the Garden & Landscape Designers Association
Kloë
Designer, Forager & Upcycler.
After growing up in the Wilds of West Cork I jumped over the pond for a decade, to study and work in UK. From discovering the wonders of the natural world while studying in Snowdonia, seeing sustainability in academia & in action in Devon & dipping my toe into a PhD at the European Centre for the Environment and Human Health; I came to the end of seven years of reading & writing, aching to roll the sleeves up & put a flavour of what I’d learnt into practice.
It was on a community project in Cornwall, that I met an ‘ansome’ & incredibly inspiring horticulturalist called Adam & a new plants-filled adventure really started. From the Cotswolds, to Surrey, Sussex and Hertfordshire we filled every windowsill, office pot and allotment plot we could get our hands on with all manner of delicious greenery. The problem was, between small, borrowed spaces & employers understandably with their own ideas, we didn’t have a place nor breathing space to really make & create what was in our minds. In the Spring of 2017, my parents sowed the seed of an idea involving moving back to West Cork & by the Autumn we found ourselves on a boat bobbing across the Irish Sea.
We launched Two Green Shoots in September 2017, four days after our ferry landed, running a wild tea feast & pop-up café in collaboration with The Ewe Experience as part of the West Cork Food Festival. As well as edible events, we wanted to create indoor & outdoor spaces that would bring our botanical ideas to life & in Summer 2018 we opened the gates to The Garden of Re-Imagination as part of the West Cork Garden Trail & The Botanical B&B with its four rooms inspired by the surrounding landscape – Fern, Lichen, Willow & Silver Birch. We’ve since added a private glamping experience – The Botanical Bell Tent which proved so popular we’ve only just had the chance to try it ourselves! For two years now we’ve also been teaching seasonal programmes for the charity RehabCare & run workshops throughout the year for schools, community groups & festivals including Heritage Week, The Ellen Hutchins Festival & Culture Night, do drop us an email for a flavour of what we can offer. We also regularly partner with others to host special events from Yoga Retreats to Craft & Botanical Art workshops, sign up for our monthy newsletter or keep in touch with us via social media for dates & more details!
Adam
Master Gardener & passionate plants-man.
Growing up surrounded by a rugged, wild Cornish countryside & coast, I couldn’t imagine gardening without nature at the core of everything I did. It would have been an uphill struggle to do otherwise with that wind and rain! From the age of 4, I pottered alongside my mum growing vegetables, collecting seeds, foraging & each year growing sweet peas to fill the house with.
At 21, whilst managing two allotment plots, I was lucky to have the opportunity to volunteer at the world renowned garden estate ‘Trewithen gardens’, under talented Head Gardener, Gary Long. After training with the RHS, I went on to launch my own gardening business & then moved into managing historic garden estates for the National Trust, before reaching the top of the Horticultural tree at the age of 28, managing the gardens of Knebworth estate as Head Gardener.
The move to West Cork with Kloe didn’t take much persuading as with West Cork’s similarly dramatic landscape & of course the strong Cornish connections on the Beara peninsula, I felt quite at home!
Along with managing the gardens at Bantry House, my key passions include developing the edible paradise that is ‘The Garden of Re-imagination’ which focuses on feeding nature as much as people; & working with Kloe to design & build gardens across the South-West. This design branch of our business, in particular enables us to distill our wealth of diverse experience, skills & practical knowledge in horticulture, ecology & sustainability & a life-long love of nature into our client’s gardens. To date, we’ve re-imagined over fifty sites of all shapes & sizes so do visit our garden design page for a flavour of some of these projects. It’s an amazing adventure & privilege working with people & nature to craft sustainable spaces that buzz with life.
Adam
- Over 15 years professional experience managing public and private gardens across the UK & Ireland
- Current Head Gardener of Bantry House & Gardens
- Former Head Gardener – Knebworth House & Gardens
- Former Head of Surrey Landscapes
- RHS-trained Horticulturalist
The Garden of Re-Imagination
For seventy years, nature grew it’s own design…
Our Story
It starts with pollinators, potatoes & package holidays!
The WWF released a harrowing report in 2018 revealing that in just the last 40 years, the world has seen a 60% decline in wildlife populations with insects alone, being driven to extinction at a rate 8 times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles. A study published in 2019 showed that more than 40% of insect species are in decline and a third endangered. Why’s this such a problem?
As seen in
