Having previously enjoyed city life, working and living in London, my husband and I decided to move to the country, have our

second child and start Philippa Craddock the business all in the same year! The earlier arrival of our first son gave me a new perspective on life and the confidence to start my own company.

I launched Philippa Craddock in February 2009 with the aim of providing a truly unique gifting experience. We offer high-end indoor and outdoor plants, beautifully packaged and delivered within two days throughout the UK by courier.

It was essential to me from the start to find passionate people to work alongside. I spent over a year developing my idea, searching for the UK's leading experts to create the very best plants, packaging and pots. The passion of everyone involved, along with their expertise, is now combined, creating a wonderful gift that is enjoyed and treasured.

Pheasants Hatch in East Sussex is both our home and business HQ for Philippa Craddock. The 430-year-old house required considerable renovation and the old rambling gardens needed a little tender loving care; but we knew immediately it would become our perfect family home and an inspiring place to grow the company. The gardens of Pheasants Hatch have been open to the public for the last fifty years through The National Garden Scheme (NGS). Since 1927, the NGS has sought to open private gardens of interest and high quality to the general public and now raises £2m each year funding charities to help people who are ill or under stress.

Soon after we launched we had a number of wedding enquiries and this has now become the largest part of our company. Our aim is to provide genuinely inspiring arrangements and, above all, to share our enthusiasm for beautiful flowers and plants. Wherever possible we use plants within our designs and these are then replanted in the bride and groom’s garden after the event, becoming a unique and wonderful reminder of their day, year after year.

We also offer a corporate contract service, providing plants and small trees in arrangements on a bi-weekly and monthly basis. It is wonderful seeing our potted creations transform office spaces, hotels and restaurants. One firm has inspirationally taken to giving the old plants to a different employee each month, to take home & replant, to enjoy in their own garden or window box.

It is of upmost importance to us to offer a personal and an outstanding service to our customers. I personally hand pick, pot and package each plant myself. We are an environmentally friendly company and encourage our customers to re-use their packaging as practical storage solutions for hatboxes and retro record collections, to name but a few! The very small part of the packaging that has been designed to throw away is 100% recyclable. We donate 2.5% of our profits to a charity called Growaforest, which plants native trees in the UK to help reverse the damage done by CO2 emissions.

Visit us online at www.philippacraddock.com