Sharon

Accounts Assistant · At Ashridge since 2019

“The accounts will always be there, but the grandchildren won’t stay small for long.”

I work in our accounts team. I started at Ashridge in customer service, so I’ve swapped questions about planting depths for questions about invoices, though the plants still get mentioned more than you’d think.

How did you end up at Ashridge? I came to have a look around. I’m not sure when the look around turned into a job, but nobody has asked me to leave yet.

What’s the busiest moment you’ve had here? Covid, without a doubt. Most of the country was stuck at home looking out of the window and deciding the garden needed improving, all at once.

Which plant would you recommend to anyone? Roses. The colours and the scent win me over, and there’s one for almost any spot you have: a climber for a wall, a standard for a pot, a shrub for a border.

What’s the first plant you remember growing? A runner bean, for a science experiment at school. Each group grew beans in different conditions: sun with water, sun without, and the dark cupboard with and without water. I got the dark cupboard with no water. It never stood a chance and was very boring to watch, but at least the write-up was quick.

Best gardening advice you’ve ever been given? Don’t grow things in a science cupboard. I learned that one the hard way.

What do you do away from work? Busy weekends with family and friends, travelling whenever I can, and quiet weekends in the garden, which I love just as much. 

This or that: Tea or coffee? Coffee. Spade or fork? Fork. Spring or autumn? Spring.

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