AUNTIE PLANTY Testimonials

Super person to deal with - years of experience and happy to help beginbers. Auntie Planty's enthusiasm is infectious

Valerie has opened up a whole new world to me.. That may sound extreme but I really mean it. I have a garden and while loving it had very little idea of what to do in it or the confidence to do it. Friends noticed this and gave me a voucher for some lessons with Valerie.

She is fantastic - so knowledgeable yet totally unthreatening and practical. I am now totally hooked on gardening thanks to Valerie. Aside from the above she is really fun to be around so I can't recommend her more highly.

Last week, Valerie Munro (Auntie Planty) came round to check out my garden and give me some ideas for my lawn, which was full of holes.

I had no idea what a gold mine of information she is! She shared so many tips and ideas of her own, which made sense, were easy to understand and even easier to put into practice. Among other things, Valerie showed me how to prune my roses, which bit to cut off and even how roses have hormones and how they affect it's growth!

She also showed me her own fail safe method to fill in the holes in my lawn, which is already working, and she pointed out a couple of cases of vine weevil and advised how to treat - again, very easy to do and easy to remember - and loads more! I enjoyed the 2 hours I spent with her enormously. I learnt so much valueable stuff from her and I very much look forward to showing her what a difference her time has made to me and my garden.

My garden needed some tender loving care, and yet I hadn't a clue where to start. In a very short amount of time, Auntie Planty showed me how to prune my roses, how to move established plants, how to reseed my lawn, how to feed my plants appropriately and how to consider suitable plants for seasonal colour for the gaps, so that the garden looked interesting all year round.

In only one two-hour session I learnt such a lot, and now feel empowered to better understand my plants' needs.

Valerie has helped transform my neglected, struggling garden and more importantly given me the confidence and ability to maintain it. Full of knowledge and energy she was a joy to work with.

We had our back garden redesigned about 15 months ago and suddenly realised that we didn't know enough about the on-going up keep to ensure it looked great all year round...that's where Aunty Planty came in! Valerie is excellent at understanding what look we wanted to achieve and teaching/training us in how to get it.

Her fantastic knowledge of plants and how they will look (especially when they grow!), coupled with her lovely sense of humour has been perfect for us.

She visits us approximately once every few months to help us prepare for the upcoming season - everyone comments on how great the garden looks and a huge part of that is down to Valerie/Aunty Planty.

My daughter presented me with a 3-hour Auntie Planty gift voucher for my birthday, to ensure that I would get out into the garden and start enjoying the plants before the garden ran completely wild. During my voucher time with Valerie, we planted up more than 30 different roses, we discussed proper pruning for other plants, we identified several plant pest problems and she offered effective remedies, we talked about appropriate climbing frames for clematis and other climbers and she gave me some wonderfully colourful ideas for me to develop in the coming months.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with her, I learnt a lot about proper care for my plants, it was good fun and her down to earth approach has given me inspiration to get gardening. I look forward to another session in the spring.

Auntie Planty was fantastic! With her hands-on approach she guided us through the achievable possibilities of our overgrown garden, with us all working together.

We wanted to take out some of the overgrown shrubs to plant apples, plums and pears cordons. We also wanted to make some space for some raised beds to grow veggies and have space for our daughter to play!.

We never dreamt it was possible change our garden so radically and so quickly , but with Valerie's help we did it! Valerie also came up with news ideas to improve our garden and after only one two-hour session, we also laid some new turf, the garden seemed to stretch, and we had fun into the bargin....

So I would definetely recommend Aunty Planty

We wanted to change our garden from very boring to somewhere we enjoy being but knew from experience that we may waste lots of money on plants that didn't work in the space we bought them for.

Valerie's knowledge was very impressive and we were very happy with the guidance she gave for plant choices on our trip to the garden centre. When we planted all our new purchases, Valerie encouraged me that it would spring to life soon, and she was so right.

We had beautiful colours all summer, without spending a fortune and with no wasted money on mistake buys! Paying for Valerie's service was well worth the investment!

My overgrown garden was quite a daunting task, but with Auntie Planty's guidance, she helped me to see through the jungle to the possibilities on the other side of a session of hard but accurate pruning. I’m very impressed with the space that I have gained as my garden is now 2 metres wider. I am ready to roll out Auntie Planty’s suggested phase 2!

No matter what level a gardener you are, Valerie will help you as well as your garden to grow and flourish. Great experience with great company and great value for money.

You can cut the grass and do the weeding but what you need is knowledge, advice and inspiration. Aunty Planty brings all of that.

Valerie has helped my daughter successfully reclaim our over-grown back garden.. I have to say that the display created in the front garden has had passers by stopping to admire the brilliance and good health of the roses.

Valerie McBride is an inspiration. I had the most daunting jungle of a garden and we tackled it together. It was a huge task but her enthusiasm carried us through. We are now working on building a completely new garden from scratch. Not a bit daunting with Valerie's knowledge, experience and endless enthusiasm and patience. No sensible gardener should be without Valerie at their elbow giving wonderful advice.

We sought advice when we noticed that our previously lush terrace garden was looking miserable and the plants appeared to be dying. Valerie was able to quickly diagnose the problem as 'vine weevil' and even managed to catch one to show us.

She explained that the bite marks in the leaves indicate the type of insect responsible, outlined the life cycle of this particular infestation and offered us several solutions. We chose the nematode method of treatment which works on the grubs in the soil and this has completely solved the problem returning our potted vines to their former glory.

Valerie was also able to advise us on the type of plants that would thrive in this particular location and how to prune the ones already there. She was also able to advise us on an elderly lime tree in the communal garden and identified a nasty outbreak of ground elder.

We were thoroughly impressed by the range and depth of Valerie's knowledge and her ability to transform gardening difficulties into an enjoyable and informative experience.

We are delighted to recommend Valerie to anyone who has plant problems from trees to pot plants.

I opened my garden up to the public under the National Garden Scheme, and I needed to have Valerie’s speciality of plant health make sure that all of the plants were in tip top condition. I learnt a lot from her.

I would have no hesitation in recommending Auntie Planty to anyone who is looking for the best possible results for their garden.

I thoroughly enjoyed my gardening sessions with Valerie. She gave me enthusiasm & confidence to tackle the garden myself. She was also great (& patient!) with my toddler who enjoyed the gardening with her too.

I would like to commend Valerie on all the help that she afforded my wife and I in planning our garden. Valerie's approach it quite unique - involving us in all aspects of the garden, from shrubs to furniture. We were amazed and delighted at Valerie's total enthusiasm for our garden - as if she was planning her own garden. We could not recommend Valerie high enough - don't take our word for it - just experience it. We look forward to more valuable help and advice from Valerie in the near future.

Valerie inspired us to have go at gardening. Her hand holding approach (including accompanied nursery trips) made us feel as though we were involved in creating our front garden rather than simply bystanders. She gave us some great tips - especially about seasonal planting and colour, and as a bonus she is very good value. I've loved seeing my front garden grow from nothing to something really quite lovely. If you don't know where to start with your garden or you just want some good sound advice, call Aunty Planty!

It was a real pleasure to work with Valerie, just what I needed. She understood instantly that we wanted a low maintenance garden/football pitch which was also nice to look out on and gave us tips and shortcuts to achieve this realistic goal. Her fun, get stuck in attitude is inspiring, I will never be scared to tackle the garden again!

Valerie is very knowledgeable, but at the same time down to earth and practical. She is good fun to work with, and had my kids digging away within a few minutes. She works with the layout and plants you have, rather than suggesting drastic expensive changes and yet simply put, she makes your garden look great.

Valerie is brilliant. Really helpful - especially as I'm a complete gardening novice. Very hands on and gets stuck in but explains everything as you do it with her and advises you as to what to plant, how to prune different plants etc. If you're worried about tackling a jungle and don't know where to start - Auntie Planty is definitely for you. 100% positive - a unique service.

We needed a complete revamp of the front garden, which for gardening newbies gave us a challenge - learn about gardening or pay to have it done. Aunty Planty provided us with the best of both worlds. She was really helpful, conscious of our budget, and good fun to do it with. We’d thoroughly recommend her.

After living for years with nothing more than a roof terrance I finally got myself a rather overgrown little garden. Valerie has helped me to tame it and add to it (I am an enthusiastic novice). She is very knowledgable, down to earth and great fun to work with; very hands on and we have been out there in all sorts of weather! Excellent value for money and great tuition. I thoroughly recommend.

A well-informed and enthusiastic teacher who has supported us to plan and develop our garden. We are VERY pleased with the results and really appreciate her encouraging us to find our own design style. We would recommend her to anyone especially those wishing to develop their knowledge and understanding of gardening.

29/3/2008

We invited Valerie i.e. "Auntie Planty" to help us with our garden in Kingston, expecting an academic approach, but she is a whirlwind of energy with a hands on approach backed up by her extensive qualifications,knowledge and experience - she helped remove a small tree, shrubs,advised how to prune and prepare soil, treat against insects and how to choose plants, tools to use, how to plan our garden,etc.She demystified everything so that we felt confident enough to tackle our new garden.We will continue to get her ideas and help on an ongoing basis.What a revealation. Having your own garden consultant is an enlightening experience and avoids making costly mistakes.Valerie is worth every penny of her valuable time.

Every garden should have an AuntiePlanty !

Glenn and Lucie - Kingston upon Thames

After living with our rather dull and overgrown garden for the last five years Aunty Planty is giving it a new, exciting lease of life and making it a pleasure not only to relax in, but to learn about and nurture through the seasons. Her enthusiasm is infectious and her knowledge invaluable. We canʼt thank her enough for the difference she is making and if they could, our plants would be thanking her too.

The most magnificent and knowledgeable lady at a very nice price! Valerie really does know her stuff, our garden is beautiful and she has helped us to create it. Not only can I recommend her I would go so far as to say our crazy if you donʼt use her.