About Friend & Gardener

Friend and Gardener is owned and run by Clare Cooke, a professional horticulturist who trained at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Inspired by her favourite book "Dear Friend and Gardener": a year of letters between Christopher Lloyd and Beth Chatto. Friend & Gardener was conceived in 1999.

Clare's rich and varied career both on and off screen, has included Jungle on Your Doorstep for Survival Anglia TV, The Great Garden Game for Channel 5 and Grass Roots for Meridian TV, plus a multitude of radio show guest appearances and a series of gardening books.

From 1991-2000, Clare took up the spade in her role as Blue Peter Gardener. During her time with the iconic children's programme, Clare researched and presented many films around the world highlighting the importance of conservation. From the Cameroon; to the forests of Canada and the aridity of the Namib Desert. It was in the Amazon that Clare saw her dream come true - a flowering brazil nut tree.

After 9 years on the high street in Castle Cary, Somerset, F&G is now an online shop supplying seasonal plants as gifts delivered nationwide. It is run from Clare's farm in Somerset, where there are glasshouses and a nursery.

With a love for swallows, toads and starry nights. Clare's greatest passions include gardening, her dogs, 6 donkeys and of course, her husband Henry!