About
Rutty Sark Gardens is a gardening company that operates in and around East Sussex and Kent. It consists of a small team of gardeners who like nothing better than to meet new people, see their gardens, listen to their wants and then help them to transform their space - no matter the size or the state of it - into something that will bring them lasting pleasure, relaxation and delight.
Meet the Team
RACHEL RUTTY,
Owner & Gardener
In 2020 Rachel formed Rutty Sark with the aim of uniting like-minded gardeners to offer high quality, art and craft-led garden services to homes around East Sussex.
Rachel completed RHS Level 2 training in Practical Horticulture at Plumpton College, worked for three years studying under the supervision head gardener Edward Flint at a private estate in East Sussex, attended the Art and Craft of Gardening course at Great Dixter and learned garden design from Sophie Guinness at Putney School of Art.
Previous to gardening Rachel worked as a Teaching Assistant and studied Anthropology at Durham University.
When not gardening (which is rare), Rachel learns the piano and cooks.
Rachelle Dare,
Senior Gardener
After losing the zest for sitting at a desk all day, Rachelle realised it was time to spend more time outdoors. She enrolled in the RHS Level 2 Certificate in Practical Horticulture at Hadlow College in Kent, and started working part time with Rutty Sark thereafter. In 2023, Rachelle became a full time Senior gardener.
With a background in Fine Art, Rachelle brings creativity to her gardening. She enjoys learning new approaches, caring for plants, creating planting schemes - and finding the odd frog or two!
Rachelle is a Trustee of the charity Hastings Compost Community. She has completed the Introduction to STH Pratice with the charity Thrive and recently attended a 3 day fruit tree pruning course with Brighton Permaculture Trust.
When she is not in the garden, you’ll find her at the allotment or walking the dog.
HATTIE COOK
LEAD GARDENER
Hattie joined the Rutty Sark team after studying embroidery at the London College of Fashion. Inspired by the natural world, her floral design work earned her a place as a finalist in the Hand and Lock Prize for Embroidery.
Bringing this creativity and eye for detail to her gardening, Hattie has become a fountain of knowledge for all things plants and can often be found with a stash of nursery labels in her pocket.
Hattie has completed RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Plant Growth and Development and RHS Level 2 Practical Certificate. She has also attended the Nursery Propagation day at Great Dixter, as well as completing a 3 day fruit tree pruning course with Brighton Permaculture Trust. Recently, Hattie has joined the volunteer programme at Sissinghurst Gardens and works and trains with their horticultural team one day a week.
When not in the garden, you might find Hattie at Alexandra Park Greenhouse where she is the Horticultural Lead or reading a good book (on plants).