PRESS RELEASE
22 May 2025
From dream to reality:
Civil servant cultivates new career at Hole Park and wins show garden place at Gardeners' World Live
A former civil servant from Kent, who swapped a computer keyboard for garden tools to help overcome severe postnatal anxiety, is about to see her dreams come true. Not one but two of her first garden designs are going on show to the public this Summer, one of them at Gardeners' World Live in June (12-15 June 2025).
Jane Eastwood, a mum of two from Hawkhurst, had dreamed of becoming a garden designer while working as a copywriter for Gov.uk. After suffering postnatal anxiety twice in five years, including during the pandemic, she decided to quit her London-based job and retrain in horticulture.
After attending a ‘design your garden' workshop at Hole Park, near Cranbrook in Autumn 2023, Jane was encouraged to apply for a place on theWork and Retrain As a Gardener Scheme -WRAGS for short - run by theWorking For Gardeners Association (WFGA). She was successful and spent last year (2024) as an apprentice with the Garden of the Year** finalist's team, being mentored by Hole Park's Head Gardener Quentin Stark.
A chance conversation with Quentin about remodelling the Millennium Garden beside the beautiful Georgian mansion - the private residence of Hole Park's owners Edward and Clare Barham - led to Jane being asked to come up with ideas for a new look.
Jane meticulously measured the space, costed materials and thought hard about a suitable new border layout and planting scheme. The resulting plan of cool silver, blue and purple plants in curved borders with framing of the view through a veil of wispy grasses, received an immediate ‘yes' from the Barhams.
"I wanted the design to compliment the Terracotta garden on the other side of the house, which is all hot reds and oranges, and create a lovely West-facing evening view for Edward and Clare as well as mark Quentin's 25 years as Head Gardener in 2025. I couldn't believe it when they said that they loved my design and wanted to go ahead with it."
Jane was then asked to stay on at Hole Park, after the end of her training in December 2024, to help bring the project to life, with the final planting being completed this month (May) for visitors to admire.
A design for a historic garden alone would be a dream debut for any aspiring designer, but things didn't stop there. As a result of the project, her WFGA coordinator Alison Hepworth was so impressed that she encouraged Jane to apply to design one of the ten WRAGS-supported show gardens at Gardeners' World Live. The show at the NEC in Birmingham attracts upwards of 90,000 visitors - money-can't-buy exposure for a new designer just building a profile.
The 2025 theme for the ten gardens is Cultivating Connections. Jane's design, which won her a place amongst them, is The Newborn Garden. Unsurprisingly, it is inspired by her experiences as a new mother and by the postnatal anxiety she suffered.
"The garden is designed to be a welcoming and peaceful space for anyone looking after a newborn baby, whether they are mothers, fathers, guardians or carers," said Jane. "From personal experience, I know it can often be stressful and lonely looking after a newborn baby, so I wanted to create a place where people can sit privately but also connect with others in the space if they want to."
Thanks to contact with the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA), Jane's chosen charity partner for the garden, and her own ‘cold calling,' Jane secured sponsorship from maternal healthcare company Lansinoh. Founded 40 years ago by a new mum who struggled with breastfeeding, Lansinoh has grown into one of the UK's favourite motherhood brands with a range of breastfeeding and postnatal support products. The partnership between the MMHA and Lansinoh provided a natural connection, aligning with Jane's mission to champion maternal mental health and wellbeing.
A local nursery, Rapkyns in Heathfield, is loaning her all the plants while Hole Park is providing manpower - Quentin and Deputy Head Gardener Joe Archer will be helping Jane build her garden at the NEC - as well as transport and temporary storage for all the materials.
The centre piece of The Newborn Garden will be a beautiful corten steel bench, specially commissioned from local supplier RJB Steel, which Jane hopes to be able to donate to a local Birmingham maternal support group, hospital maternity unit or community garden when the show finishes.
-ends-
For further information please contact:
Alison Miles, Press Office, Hole Park Estate, Benenden Road, Rolvenden, Kent TN17 4JA
pressoffice@holepark.com DL: 01580 241344
Notes to editors
Jane's garden design business website:https://janeeastwoodgardendesign.co.uk/
*Working For Gardeners Association (WFGA)
The WFGA is a charity registered as Women's Farm and Garden Association. Its working name was recently changed to the Working for Gardeners Association. It was founded in 1899 by women concerned about the lack of education and employment opportunities for women working on the land. Find out more at:https://www.wfga.org.uk/
In 1993 WFGA, having identified a need for a training scheme for older students - as none existed elsewhere - established the ‘Women Returners to Amenity Gardening Scheme'. Designed to offer ‘returners' who were considering a career in horticulture, training in practical gardening skills, within private and public gardens throughout the United Kingdom. Since that first pilot scheme, WRAGS has enjoyed great success - and is now established as one of the leading training schemes, highly respected by the horticultural sector. In 2014 the name was changed to Work and Retrain As A Gardener Scheme (WRAGS) to reflect the change in the type of applicants applying.WRAGSprovides paid, part-time, practical horticultural training. The trainee works for 12-14 hours a week for the whole year, in a carefully sourced garden, under the instruction of the garden owner or head gardener.
About Hole Park
Set in 200 acres of classic English parkland,Hole Park is a hidden gem of the High Weald National Landscape. It has been owned by the Barham family for the past four generations, having been purchased as a family home by Edward Barham's Great Grandfather, Colonel Arthur Barham, in 1911. In the mid-1920s the Colonel made the bold decision to share the beauty of his recently-created gardens, by opening them to the public: a tradition that is maintained to the present day. Over the decades, each succeeding generation has improved and innovated the layout and planting in the gardens.
The current custodians, Edward and Clare Barham, moved into Hole Park with their three children and dogs in 2003. Since then, they have undertaken a comprehensive re-planting programme of the garden which reflects and enhances the Colonel's original plans from the 1920s. Edward and Clare both take an active role in managing the gardens. This includes public opening days, so they are often found selling tickets in front of the house, serving in the Tea Room or walking their dogs around the gardens.
Hole Park is open daily 11am to 6pm from Tuesday 1 April until Monday 30 June inclusive, moving to Wednesdays and Thursdays (11am-6pm) only during July, August and September. Sundays are added during October when the gardens close at 4pm (dusk). The gardens are completely closed from November to April every year.
**The Garden of the Year Award
Hole Park is one of eight finalists in this year's Garden of the Year Award, run by Historic Houses. The prestigious national award, presented annually since 1984 and sponsored by Christies, is designed to recognise the importance of some of the country's most spectacular gardens with outstanding horticultural and public appeal. The final winner is decided through an online vote by members of the public who judge the gardens based on a variety of factors that contribute to their enjoyment as visitors. Voting is open from now until the end of September at: https://www.historichouses.org/vote-goya/ with the winner revealed in November.
About the Maternal Mental Health Alliance
The Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) is an award-winning charity and network of over 130 member organisations, parents, and clinicians dedicated to ensuring all women, birthing people, babies and families impacted by perinatal mental health problems have access to high-quality, compassionate care and support.https://maternalmentalhealthalliance.org/
About Lansinoh
For 40 years, new mothers have trusted Lansinoh to support and care for them while they enter the messy magic of motherhood. Born from one mother's realisation that as they tirelessly care for their babies, parents often go without the support they need and deserve. That's why Lansinoh proudly stands with mothers all over the world. The brand's journey started (and continues) with the multi-award winning, healthcare professional recommended HPA Lanolin Nipple Cream. Today, it offers a comprehensive collection of solutions that help new parents navigate pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and pumping. https://lansinoh.co.uk/