WHEN Julie and Jason Cole both found themselves redundant, they decided to take some time out and travel abroad.

They visited Singapore, Australia and the US while they considered what the future might hold.

Mrs Cole had always worked in finance – at Cummins in Darlington and Marks and Spencer in Surrey – while her husband had been in marketing with Orange in London.

Inspired by her experiences abroad, Mrs Cole decided to see if her life-long interest in gardening could blossom into a new career.

Now, after five years of study, she holds a first-class honours degree in garden art and design from Leeds Metropolitan University.

She also successfully completed a course in landscape architecture and has now gone into business based at her home in Darlington.

“I’ve always been interested in gardens from a child when I had my own garden plot,”

said Mrs Cole.

While studying for her degree, she was part of a team which won gold at the Royal Horticultural Society’s flower show at Tatton Park with an innovative bubble garden, complete with a bubble-making machine.

Mrs Cole only launched her business at the start of the year, but has already carried out several designs for clients in the area.

She has an initial meeting at the person’s home to find out the sort of garden they would like and the different micro-climates it might have.

She then comes up with a design and supplies the client with a 3-D colour picture to show exactly how it would look.

“I like to link the house in with the garden and the countryside. It has to sit comfortably with the surroundings,” said Mrs Cole.

She will also work with architects and also likes to use local materials, such as stone from a local quarry, wherever possible.

Meanwhile, her husband has carved out a new career in the world of orthopaedics, working with surgeons throughout the North-East and North Yorkshire.

Mrs Cole can be contacted on 07903-231714 or at julieacole@gmail.com.