COSTESSEY

Cheznie Walters

Houseplant Supervisor

Chez is truly obsessed with houseplants and her passion for them is evident in her meticulous approach to plant care. When she’s not talking to the plants she spends her time talking to customers to make sure their purchases are going to receive the best possible aftercare. She spends her free time tending to her own extensive collection of houseplants and experimenting with new ways to display them. With her expertise and attention to detail, Chez ensures that every plant in our care is thriving and healthy.

Lauren Cutler

Horticultural Assistant

Meet Lauren, our passionate horticulturalist who has made a career change from estate agency to horticulture. Lauren is an active outdoor girl who says she enjoys the feeling of a good healthy tiredness at the end of the working day. Her love for outdoor activities is reflected in her passion for outdoor swimming, whether it’s in a river or the sea, come rain or shine. Her interest in horticulture has led her to develop an appreciation for shade-loving plants and she is excited to create her own jungle garden.

Rosie May

Horticultural Assistant

Rosie joined us in 2023 after completing her RHS exams and currently helps look after our unique range of trees, grasses and tender perennials. She adores prairie and woodland planting styles and hopes to design her own ‘food forest’ one day. A keen veg grower, she likes to combine edibles with ornamentals in her city garden. Though it can be high maintenance, she believes gardening with containers provides flexibility if you have a small outdoor space. Displays can be refreshed season to season as pots are added and moved around.

Mark Curtis

Nursery assistant & maintenance Norwich

Mark joined us for work experience in 2015, was given a permanent position within weeks, and is a much-valued member of the team. He gets stuff done, builds things for us, knows where everything is and how it works, and makes the nursery look lovely. A family man with 3 children Mark is deaf, lip-reads, and never misses out on the gossip.

Skinny Pete

Pest Control and Rascality

BECCLES

Ollie McArthur Tring

Nursery Manager

After working for a local rose grower, Ollie joined us in early spring 2023, first as an assistant, then as a supervisor, and now as a manager. It was obvious from his first week that he is a natural leader, an efficient organiser, a plantsman, is aligned with our values, and an all-round super chap. He ensures our plants, customers, and team have everything they need, and is so dedicated has to be reminded to go home sometimes. However, when he is at home he makes the most beautiful and unique pottery.

Jake Hood

Horticultural Assistant

Jake joined us as a cafe assistant in 2018, but his horticultural knowledge and enthusiasm meant that it wasn’t long before he was working in the nursery. He can still whip up a pretty mean latte when required. Known as Hoodiculturalist on Instagram, his page is full of interesting and insightful plant info.

Kyle Smith

Grounds & Maintenance Supervisor

Kyle is the site maintenance supervisor and delivery driver at our company. With years of supervisory experience working offshore, he has developed a keen eye for detail and a passion for keeping things running smoothly. Born and raised in Suffolk, Kyle has a deep love for the area. He also has a deep love and fascination (some might say obsession) for tools, and is always on the lookout for the latest gadgets to help him perform his tasks even more efficiently.

Musa

Pest Control and Cuteness 

Sister of Basjoo, recipient of endless customer fusses, unless she’s having a moody day in which case we are all ignored. Loves to be walked around the gardens in the evening when she has to fight off many attacks from her brother. Crazy moments of playfulness include running up and down all our cordylines and using our cork oak as a scratching pole, which is ok because it does actually have cork for bark!

Basjoo (Baz)

Pest Control and Cuteness 

The statuesque brother of Musa. Much shyer – skittish even. We are all honored if he’s feeling brave and comes down to the nursery while we’re open, in which case he sometimes forgets his nerves and is up for any amount of fuss. Loves to be walked around the gardens in the evening and attack his poor sister.

PROPAGATION

Campbell Perrins

Propagation Manager

Agnessa Burkovska

Nursery Assistant Beccles

A career change for chef Agnessa. Nessa is crazy about plants and gardening. Latvian, and fluent in Russian, she keeps us entertained with her unique take on regional British accents and colloquialisms. Nessa does everything, including maintaining our gardens, propagation, and serving nursery and cafe customers.

CAFES

Amelia Flavell

Cafes manager

The owners’ daughter. Press ganged into helping out as a surly teenager, she became a full-time team member in 2016. Former stressed-out manager of the 2 Urban Jungle restaurants, now finding life slightly less frenetic as the manager of the 2 Urban Jungle coffee shops. Mother to teenage granddaughter Erica. History may very soon repeat itself.

Natasha Harvey

Barista

Always ready with a warm welcome for coffee seekers, Tasha has been with us since 2016 and we’d be lost without her. And now that the plant bug has bitten, Tasha is helping out with the houseplants too (it had to happen eventually).

Kelsey Dunning

Barista

Kelsey lives locally and joined us in early 2023. She’s a super competent barista, and like all our staff, she participates in our plant training programme so that she can tend to, and offer advice about our houseplants between frothing up cappuccinos.