Enchanted Gardens

17th August, 2025

I met Donna years ago when she was running ‘Ladybirds’ gardening company. Now she is based at Enchanted Gardens where she has created cottage style gardens from the open farmland that was there. She says “I’ve always been a ‘naturally gifted’ gardener and intuitively know about plants and what they require. She thinks too many garden plants and shrubs are imported from the continent, which causes horticulture to thrive in other economies, but not in the UK. She plans to change this situation by growing local native species, which are pesticide & insecticide free. Donna is passionate about pollinating insects and trying to counter the loss of bees. She concentrates on growing perennials and native and wild species grown from seed.

 When I visited last week, they were hosting the first ‘Garden of Hope’ project alongside Keep Talking Services and the involvement and engagement team at Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust. This is the first of three Gardens of Hope, which is a project running alongside the Baton Of Hope UK suicide prevention strategy. Donna says ‘Enchanted Gardens has always been a place of comfort, a sanctuary and today, we’ve brought that vision to life in a new and tangible way by creating a dedicated space where everyone is invited to reflect, begin healing, and be reminded that hope still lives here.  She says’ The blooming of bulbs throughout the year is a quiet reminder that life continues, hope endures, and even in our hardest seasons, beauty still finds a way to grow’. Donna welcomes visitors to Enchanted gardens. More information is at https://www.enchantedgardenskent.co.uk