Aftercare and planting manager, Christina Cobb, has recently passed her three-year anniversary at the Garden Club London which she explains was kickstarted by her win at Pro Landscaper’s 30 under 30 awards. 

“I think winning the award so close to the start of my time at the company really set me off on the right track,” says Cobb. 

Explaining how the validation of the award has made her more confident, and this then translated into the projects and tasks she has taken ownership of.  

At Garden Club London Cobb takes care of the design and project management of installation projects, managing the aftercare team, and looking after all new enquiries the business receives.  

Cobb meets with clients to discuss their needs, produce design drawings for their comment and approval, compile estimates for landscaping work, then project manage the build phase of the project.  

“For my projects I get ownership from start to finish which is something I absolutely love as it allows me to build great client relationships and work really efficiently,” says Cobb. 

“I also manage the aftercare department of the business and look after all enquiries the company receives for design and build work.” 

Having been aware of the 30 under 30 awards for as long as she has been involved in the industry, it was after she had been working at Garden Club for a couple of months that her director, said he thought she should apply.  

“Winning a 30 Under 30 award was on my personal bucket list for a while but wasn’t something I believed I could achieve,” says Cobb. 

“At Garden Club I was given the opportunities I felt would make me a worthy candidate for the awards, so when it was suggested that I should apply if I felt confident enough to do so.” 

Although the award didn’t necessarily impact her career right away as Cobb was in a stable job in which she was satisfied with, it has certainly been useful more recently.  

“When I applied to design a balcony garden for Chelsea 2023, I was able to include the award as part of my personal statement, and I have no doubt this contributed towards proving my capability to the RHS for designing the garden and managing the build.” 

Since then, Cobb has also been able to take on larger and more complex projects at Garden Club, with a particular focus on roof terraces and courtyard spaces.  

“I really love designing for small or awkwardly shaped gardens as it forces you to be creative and to problem solve, and logistically there is never a dull moment with roof terraces!” 

In the short-term Cobb want to keep designing and managing my projects to the best of her ability, but her long-term goal is to move on to larger and more complex projects, ideally with more planting space so that she can work on more diverse planting plans.  

“It’s so important to add greenery to urban environments and this is something everyone at Garden Club is passionate about.”