Yesterday was a very big day for the students of KLC.

Seven weeks into the course and all eighteen of us presented real plans of the real garden we had surveyed two weeks ago to our real client.

Picture the scene…..

It’s a beautiful morning, clear blue sky, roads free of traffic (it’s half term) and as I’m driving to school I’m talking to myself. The first sign of madness? Possibly. But actually what I’m doing is practising my presentation. Over and over…..

Because I’m scared.

Our client ( wife, husband and son) is arriving at the Studio at ten and we have been given a strict five minute each to take it in turns to stand up and present our plans. All eighteen of us – to an audience of the client; each other; our Director of Studies, Annie Guilfoyle; and the Principal of KLC, Jenny Gibbs.

Now I’ve done a fair bit of presenting in my time, (although I haven’t stood up in front of an audience for fifteen years) but I’m still feeling really nervous. Because this is a whole new ballgame. I’ve only just started in the business of garden design. And I’m presenting a little bit of a very new me to complete strangers.

I’m on at number sixteen so I see most of the others present before it’s my turn. It’s a long morning, and I’m counting down the people who go before me and feeling more and more anxious. But everyone does really well. We are all nervous. But there are some great ideas. And it’s fascinating to see how eighteen people come up with different design solutions for the same garden.

It’s a relief to get it over and done with. And without falling over or forgetting what I was supposed to say. But the thing that I’m really thrilled about is how much I’ve learned in such a short space of time. I’ve taken a brief, surveyed a site, and drawn up a plan that could actually work.

This is the plan I presented. Seven weeks ago I would not have believed it was possible that I could produce something like this.

Scary…. But so satisfying….