About Floral Fanatic

Hi, I’m Lexi, 49 and live in Northwest Kent.  I need to get something off my chest – I am addicted to plants – there I’ve said it and am relieved to have come clean and you know what, I’m happy with that although my bank balance isn’t.

Now that’s out of the way let me tell you about me.  I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2008 which made me revaluate everything.  At the time I was working as a Business Centre Manager and after a redundancy in 2012 decided to take a part-time job in B&Q where my love of plants grew stronger.  Working on the till was fatal as I just wanted to buy every single plant that I scanned through.  Now I can’t seem to spend a day without looking at plants, talking about them or tending to them.  I watch a lot of horti tv and follow plenty of the fabulous floral folk on social media.  I am a hippy chick at heart and adore nature in all its forms.

My life moto is ‘it’s about the quality of your good days and not the quantity of them’.

In September 2014 I embarked on my first RHS course – Level 2 Principals of Horticulture, where I met my fantastic tutor, Tessa Allen.  In fact, she made so much of an impression on me I decided to retake the course during 2020-2021.

In 2019 I decided to study with the Open University too, firstly completing an Access Course in science, technology, and maths.  October 2020 I embarked on the module Environment: journeys through a changing world.  Having MS can present me with some challenges, but I am determined to learn new things all the time.  Using my brain can help me with my cognitive function, which can present its own problems, but I stay positive with a huge smile each day.

In the autumn of 2018, I became a volunteer at The World Garden at Lullingstone Castle under the watchful eye of the wonderfully bonkers Tom Hart-Dyke.   Tom is a plant hunter extraordinaire, collecting plants at a very young age.  The great thing about volunteering with him apart from him being a fountain of knowledge is that he knows my health situation which means I can work at my own pace.  I do feel terribly guilty if I’m not well enough to attend but his is very empathic.  I work every other Sunday during April to October on the plant sales.  I’m in my element as get to meet lots of different, interesting people and talk about plants – a win-win on my part for sure.  The only snag is that I cannot leave without buying something each time #naughtyspends

I was honoured to have been Vice Chair of the Garden Media Guild. My role included ED&I, Event Management, and the GMG Awards and after 6 months being out with an MS relapse I am thrilled to back on the Committee.

In January 2022 I was asked to become an ambassador for the Greenfingers Charity.