‘Exhibiting at the Chelsea Flower Show is a dream’

After 23 years in general practice, Lynn James was ready for a new challenge. With a growing interest in garden design, she decided to retrain and, in May, debuted at the Chelsea Flower Show with The Seasalt Painted Garden.

Medicine, garden design and a full-circle moment

‘One of my fondest memories of King’s is making the anatomy professor laugh when he asked how I knew which lung I was holding – I said, “because I picked it up from the left side of the body.” Turns out he had slightly more sophisticated identification methods in mind!

‘When I took early retirement from medicine, I wasn't ready to do nothing and I had become very excited about garden design, so moving into this after being a GP for over 20 years was the obvious path for me. I began studying at Capel Manor College in Enfield and gained a Diploma in Garden Design.

‘In March, this year I went to the Royal Horticultural Society Spring Press Conference, which was held at Lindley Hall, London. This is where I sat a number of medical exams back in the 1990s, so it felt like a very strange, full-circle moment!’

Chelsea and The Seasalt Painted Garden

‘I recently exhibited a small container garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in May. Called The Seasalt Painted Garden, it was inspired by a love of Cornwall, an interest in colour, and the vibrant, mid-century artists of the St Ives School, including Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson.

‘The design imagines an artist’s studio garden, filled with fig trees and bold, bright planting to echo the colour and creativity of their work.

‘Exhibiting at the Chelsea Flower Show is a dream for most garden designers, so I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity.’

Power of perseverance

‘Moving into a new field later in life is incredibly exciting and gives you a new lease of life. Garden design is such a creative process and feels very different from medicine, which is largely logic-based.

‘My advice for new graduates is that perseverance is key. Applying to design a garden for the Chelsea Flower Show can take years, and I’ve certainly faced setbacks along the way. But if you keep going and stay willing to adapt when necessary, there’s every chance you’ll eventually succeed.’