Janet Taylor
After failing the 11-plus and leaving school at 15 with few qualifications, Jan had a number of job changes before spending time as a catering manager. Her hobby of dried flower production evolved into garden maintenance and she began to receive requests for design work – which inspired her to change her career to do something she has a real flair for.
Jan completed a part-time City & Guilds qualification in Garden Design, gaining a distinction, and then went on to take a Foundation Degree at Otley College – funding her way through with part-time receptionist work. Taylor’d Gardens was established in 1998 when Jan was in her mid-forties.
In 2006, however, Jan developed a serious foot problem which stopped her carrying out physical work but, “I was determined to use this time to my advantage so took a number of work - related courses”, she says. Supported by an East of England Development Agency/European Social Fund grant, she undertook training in camera and digital manipulation skills, followed in 2008 by two short courses in ‘Drains and Drainage’ and ‘Costing and Specifying Garden Products’ at English Garden School in London.
“As well as the new skills resulting in more work, the learning has enabled me to handle the isolation of working alone”, says Jan. “It continues to give me the depth of knowledge and confidence to grow both as a business and as a person. I believe that I can be successful even in the economic downturn.”
