Claire Benbrook

I'm Claire, I have an addiction to all things gardening and am a real life desperate housewife, not living in American suburbia but in beautiful Essex countryside, surrounded by gently rolling fields and views to the distant church in the nearest village. My home is classic Georgian with huge sash windows and high ceilings. At this time of year I throw open the windows to let the fresh air blow through the house (often the birds too!) Out of the windows I can see the garden I have spent eight years creating. It's the house I always dreamed of and took two years to find. I've been here for ten years now , busily making it just that little bit more perfect every year.

Before life in the country began I was a townie. I grew up in Manchester where I stayed to go to university (I couldn't give up my home comforts for student digs). After completeing my degree in Retail Marketing (a degree in shopping my son calls it) I made a move to London after securing a job as fashion PR at Marks & Spencer. This job was made for me. I'd been a huge fan of 'Ab Fab' in my teens and this office must have been the inspiration for the show (it wasn't, that was another PR agency which I later went to work for). After a few years I was all partied out. The constant launch parties, fashion shows, champage lunches had got monotonous and it was time to get out. This was a young persons game, and I couldn't see a future here if I wanted a family.

One month old is not a great age to move your son to the country, especially one as demanding as mine! We somehow muddled through and he's now a dayboy at the local boarding school giving me plenty of time to indulge my passion for gardening.

I took a diploma in Garden design at Writtle college, visited famous (and not so famous) gardens whenever I could, and read book after book on gardening. During this time I began to come up with plans for the garden here. I inherited seven acres of paddocks, which have slowly developed into formal gardens. Nothing new or innovative, but classic English country garden stuff that has stood the test of time. Laburnum walks, lime walks, parterres, woodlands, white gardens, ponds, wildflower meadows, I wanted them all! This is what I have been slowly creating. However my husband is not willing to sacrifice his beloved car collection to fund my 'hobby' and insisted I raise my own money to pay for it.

That's when the idea for 'The Country Gardener, online emporium for country gardeners' came about. If I could create an online store selling all the lovely things needed for a classic country garden I would not only get them at cost price for my own garden but I would make a bit of money to pay for my gardening habit. That was three years ago and the store has been slowly developing and becoming known in gardening circles. There's still a long way to go and I have loads more ideas to create and develop the brand.

My blog will take you through the ups and downs of growing this small business into a well known gardening brand, or alternatively into collapse and shut down! You'll also follow the day to day activities in a country garden, hopefully encouraging you to get out there and do something in yours.

Claire.