A Margate mum who launched her gardening service in 2018 is set to feature on a BBC series next month.
Kerry Brown set out on her self-employment journey following her divorce and proved to be so popular she has since been joined by fellow Margate mum and budding horticulturist Rebecca Faulkner.
The pair are the driving force behind GardenGirls Can, offering clearances, turfing, landscaping and more across Thanet and Kent.
Kerry will be part of the team in five episodes of BBC’s Garden Rescue series which is now in its ninth series.
The programme is headed up by presenters Charlie Dimmock and Lee Burkhill alongside Flo Headlam and Chris Hull. Two of the team will create designs to transform gardens into spectacular outdoor spaces, sticking to the realistic budget set by the homeowners.
The homeowner will then pick one of the designs to be brought to life by the team.
Kerry’s TikTok channel was spotted by the show’s project manager Ben Pope who invited her to join the team for some of the garden transformations.
The 35-year-old mum of four (pictured above) said: “I have a tik tok channel and most of our business is through social media or word of mouth. One day I got a message from Ben Pope from Garden Rescue. They were looking for a female for the garden team and to do a couple of builds last year.
“Me being me, I thought ‘I’m going to be the next Charlie Dimmock!’
“I did five episodes last year across the country in places like Manchester and Bristol.
“It was good fun and good working with people at the top end of the game.
“I went in on the first day and worked 7am-7pm and it was pure hard graft ripping out a whole garden and then on the second day the presenters turn up for the landscaping and planting.
“Working in front of the camera was a bit nerve-wracking especially doing pieces to camera.”
Former King Ethelbert’s student Kerry said the gardening venture has allowed her to work her own timetable around her children.
She said: “I was a housewife. Then I went through a divorce and I wanted to be a bit more self sufficient, working for myself and around the kids. I started off cleaning but knew that was not for me. Initially, through the Job Centre, I did a CSCS safety course and had thought about working on sites but it was difficult being my age and being female.
“Then I did a bit of gardening, free, for a neighbour and she told everybody about it and work started to come in. I was learning as I went.”
In 2020 Kerry was joined by mum of two Rebecca (pictured) and the pair have been building up the business and taking courses to polish up on their knowledge.
Kerry said: “We have tried to branch into landscaping and designing gardens and we are trying to do it for people who haven’t got much money, so getting the garden tidy so the kids can go out there. When Rebecca first joined she couldn’t stand getting mud under her nails or finding spiders!
“The plan going forward, we want to be able to offer jobs to more women so they can work full-time but still be there for the kids. We are going to take on an apprentice this Summer and I just want there to be more and more of us out there and to be able to eventually offer more maintenance as part of our services.”
Kerry will be in episodes of Garden Rescue from May 1. Shows are screened on BBC One at 3.45pm and again on BBC Two at 7.15am.
