Your Garden
Your Pace
Your Wellbeing
We are a Community Interest Company providing companion gardening services to elderly and less able people in Cumbria and South West Scotland. Founded and operated by two qualified gardening practitioners — Lou Crouch and Tara Booth, offering not just practical gardening support, but the human companionship, therapeutic engagement, and sense of purpose that gardening uniquely provides.
What we do.
Meet the team
Lou Crouch
Director - Garden Companion
I have a real love for gardening and the wellbeing it can bring. Five years ago, I retrained in horticulture, gaining my certificate through Newton Rigg College, with the beautiful gardens at Lowther Castle as my classroom. I then completed a year-long practical placement on a private estate in Cumbria, learning under an experienced head gardener.
During this time, I supported my dad as he began to struggle with independent living following a dementia diagnosis. Gardening together, sharing ideas, sowing seeds, and taking breaks for tea, showed me how powerful simple connection can be.
That experience inspired me to create a friendly, supportive gardening service to help others stay engaged, independent and connected through their gardens.
Tara Booth
Director - Garden Companion
I love growing things. When my boys were little, I did the Royal Horticutural Society’s Art of Gardening course at Newton Rigg, near Penrith, and learnt more about the science and design aspects of horticulture.
I learnt a lot about plants and tending for gardens from my mother-in-law Rose and saw how, even after she lost a lot of herself to dementia, she never lost the joy of being in her garden.
For me, gardening became my constant during Covid, planting food and watching it grow, pottering in the garden and knowing that no matter how closed the world seemed to be, there is still life to live. Companionship to combat loneliness, combined with fresh air and the joy of seeing things grow, is what I want to share.
Pippa Baldwin
Associate - Garden Companion
I’ve always had a deep connection with the outdoors, spending much of my early years in my parents’ garden. My dad, a passionate gardener, inspired my love for horticulture, and it became something we continued to share—right up until his passing after a dementia diagnosis. Gardening gave us a lasting bond and remains at the heart of what I do today.
I studied at Newton Rigg College, where I achieved a triple distinction in an Extended BTEC Diploma in Horticulture. Since then, I have built over 14 years of experience as a garden design professional, working across Cumbria to transform outdoor spaces into beautiful, functional environments.
I take great pride in collaborating closely with clients, not only to bring their vision to life but also to give them the confidence and knowledge to care for their gardens long term. Alongside private residential projects, I have also contributed to a range of school and large-scale commercial developments.