Having completed his education in Poland, Wojtek came to the UK to work over the Summer - and is still here 6 years later! Working for a garden construction and maintenance company in Cambridge he quickly honed his practical skills in the construction of paths, patios, driveways, raised beds and a whole range of other projects, including a number in John’s Cambridge garden. Having found they worked well together, when John moved to Norfolk he asked Wojtek to help him construct a new garden there. They quickly found themselves being asked to undertake projects for friends and neighbours - and Glaven Gardens was born.

John attended school in Norfolk before undertaking degrees in Botany and Plant Physiology and becoming a lecturer in the Horticulture Department at the University of Reading. With the arrival of a family, however, he left academic life and moved to Cambridge to pursue a career in business, becoming CEO of a small drug discovery company. His passion for plants and gardening remained, however, culminating in the rescue of a two acre garden from years of neglect. Four years ago John fulfilled a long ambition to return to his native Norfolk and he and his wife bought a 200 year old house near Holt which he has completely renovated and, with Wojtek’s help, given a new garden.