Introduce Yourself: Secret Gardener

Hi fellow Steemians…

I’m Muirgheas (pronounced Muir-ISH in Gaelic or 'Morris' in English.. or I'll answer to 'M' in any language that has an 'M' in its alphabet.) I’m from Ireland but live now in England in the ‘Wolds’ – the countryside between the cities of Leicester and Nottingham. (One famous for football, cheese and discovering a lost king under a council car park, and the other famous for Robin Hood!)

I’m tall for folk around here; I used to be ginger but turned grey as a teenager, so kinda used to people assuming I’m much older than I am… but hey, I’m just very very Northern European - clearly a Scandinavian Celt! (And I’m very happy with that!)

I’ve worked in broadcast journalism since I was a teenager, and took a few years out to study horticulture and garden design before returning to broadcasting. So you might notice my grammar and writing style is more akin to talking than written prose.

I work part-time now as a TV journalist, and design gardens (more specifically planting plans) in my spare time for friends and family – hence being the ‘Secret Gardener!’

I’m a passionate plantsman - in particular mad about plants that help bees and wildlife. So expect to see lots of plant profiles, suggested groupings for difficult areas of your garden such as dry-shade etc and lots and lots about creating wildlife habitats. (I’ve got several bumblebee nests, countless solitary bee nests, toad homes and bird nests… and we’ve only lived in this place a year!)

If there are particular areas of your garden you want to bounce ideas around on – let me know. Always happy to talk plants!!!

On a personal note, I’m married to Sacha (@Totallysacha on here.) He works in the FinTech industry but is the son of a baker, and inherited some serious skills in the kitchen - you'll love his great recipes! We’ve been together since 2000 and married since 2007.

I’ve always been fit as a flea – had a rowing world record at University; swim, run and gym train lots, and am addicted to assault course events like Men’s Health Survival Of The Fittest and Tough Mudder - but then out of the blue (as these things always are) I had two strokes in 2013, that left me with some brain-damage.

They didn’t stop me broadcasting, nor doing the exercise that I love, but they did give my self-confidence a serious kicking. It’s because of all that that Sacha and I started blogging/vlogging. A good friend of ours Becky is a professional Youtuber and suggested I rebuild my confidence while I was ill by making videos of Sacha cooking. We did. We loved it. And - even better - people around the world seemed to connect with our videos, our style and us - which meant the world.

Turned out my strokes were caused by a massive and undiagnosed hole in my heart – which has now been fixed. Phew! So I’m trying to regain my fitness – and pre-strokes waistline!

We also had the most gorgeous Golden Retriever called Sydney. She featured in all our videos. She died a few weeks before her 14th Birthday last year, just after we’d moved house, and left the biggest hole in our hearts and home… we thought we’d never recover. Really!

We didn’t think we’d ever be able to make room in our heads, heart or home for another dog – Syd was irreplaceable. Then word got to us that there was a pup in need of a loving home. She was also a Retriever.

We reluctantly went to meet her. She’d been bought from her litter, but the new owners didn’t take to her or couldn’t cope... we never really got to the bottom of why they rejected her. But reject her they did! Minutes before we met her, she’d been attacked by a bigger dog in the breeder’s household – nothing too savage, a nip for taking food from his bowl, it seems. But she was shaken and timid when we met her.

She ran toward me, as little dogs often do to us tall folk, so I picked her up. She was barely bigger than my hand. She burrowed into my arms, her tail starting to wag as she snuggled into my hug – and instantly into our hearts. Yep – we had a new dog!

We didn’t take her that night – we were being strong. But we did go and get her the very next day…. She’s now called Cobie (after the actress Cobie Smulders) and is adorable. Syd would definitely approve.

Well that’s a bit about me…. So if you like gardening, nature, wildlife, dogs, travelling, food and the odd fitness insight – then please give me a follow.

Look forward to chatting with you,

Muirgheas x
Secret Gardener