All about plants and how they can help our souls.
Who we are and how we can help you
We are horticultural consultants and healers with a deep connection to nature.
We create gardens and run nature-inspired events and retreats that focus on nature as a balm for the soul and society.
Join the Community ⟶
Gardening and health conversations
Listen to Lara’s interview on Gardeners’ World Podcast
We discuss emotional suppression, anxiety, masking, dopamine addiction, spontaneity, impulsive behaviour and how gardening can help.
Improve your garden and strengthen your nature bond
I’m Lara and I’m really glad you are here
Our mission is to create beautiful spaces and share natural ways for people to feel better. My nature connection helps give me peace of mind and I know that it can help many other people too.
You are Nature
You belong here
Where gardening meets spirituality
The way it’s meant to be
I am an RHS and Great Dixter trained garden consultant, designer, plants-woman and herbalist. Me and my team renovate and maintain gardens and we run The Botanic Shed School of Nature, a place where gardening and spirituality meet to support mental health. A place where we develop the skills to develop resilience and balance, to be happier and to be able to support the men in our lives.
I want women to live their lives using biophilia as their leading language. The way it’s meant to be. So we can better support ourselves and help the boys and men around us open their hearts and help us create lives that are aligned with mother nature, abundant with truth and harmony.
What we do
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Garden Services
Dedicated proper plant care from gardeners who are trained and guided by consultants and designers.
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Garden Consultancy & Geomancy
Horticultural direction and dowsing from consultants trained by the RHS (inc. MHort), Great Dixter.
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Garden Design
Creative direction and landscaping to renovate, restore or start your garden anew.
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Plant Connection
We help you lean into the abundant powers of plant medicine & nature connection for protection.
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Retreats
Bespoke retreats that give you tools to guide you into stability and alignment.
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Events Community
Our events community is a place where gardening meets spirituality, bringing calm to your life.
Service is in our DNA
Gardening Consultancy, Design and Maintenance
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![A woman kneeling in a garden, surrounded by various flowers and plants, holding a yellow basket. The garden has a lush, green background with tall trees and a chair visible to the left.]()
Smiles at work
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![A garden with various plants including green bushes, purple and pink flowers, and a dense backdrop of leafy shrubs.]()
Norreys design
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![Potted flowers including pink coneflowers and pink yarrow on a stone patio.]()
Ashampstead Common pots
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![People constructing wooden frame near a shed outdoors]()
Compost bin building
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![Lush garden with diverse plantings including ferns, shrubs, purple flowers, and a Japanese maple tree in front of a wooden bench and green hedge.]()
Newbury design
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![A garden scene with a wheelbarrow in the foreground, a person gardening among young plants and shrubs, a house in the background, clouds in the sky, and a fence along the side.]()
Pangbourne planting
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![Garden scene with a small stone statue of a person amidst lush green plants and trees in sunlight.]()
Hermitage
A sanctuary for easy living
School of Nature
Education, Therapy & Events
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![A group of people sitting in a circular formation on a wooden platform in a forest setting, engaging in an outdoor meditation or yoga session, with mats and cushions.]()
Woodland retreat at Wasing
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![Outdoor garden scene with a long dining table set up for a meal. The table is covered with a beige tablecloth, plates, cutlery, and centerpiece decorations. Black wire chairs are positioned around the table. The garden is green and lush with trees and a large stone house visible in the background.]()
Kitchen garden retreat
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![Person sitting outdoors on grass with a gong and yoga mats near a tree, brick wall, and bushes.]()
Gong bath
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![A group of people walking on a rural path with dogs, surrounded by leafless trees.]()
Cotswold nature walk
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![A wooden sieve on a stone surface containing freshly harvested potatoes, green herbs, and purple flowers.]()
Kitchen garden retreat
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![Group of people foraging in grassy field with trees in the background.]()
Foraging
Lara's story – neurodiversity and nature
For Lara, nature has been an ally to support post-traumatic stress disorder, neurodiversity and accompanying symptoms. She shares her story and the healing space she has created for others in an article published by Thrive ‘The gardening for health charity’.
Upcoming Events
Past
Events
What our clients say
about us
“I love what Botanic Shed are doing. I think it's so fantastic because we've been through a lot recently and people are really waking up to nature as being a salve and a balm for the soul and the spirit. It definitely has been for me and this is a wonderful support system.”
—The Hon Zoë Tryon Eco-Activist—
“ We originally approached Lara to redesign a specific problem area and have been blown away by her vision and creativity. What I love about working with Lara is that she effortlessly combines her creativity with a healthy dose of pragmatism.”
—Cynthia Bostock, garden client—
We work with
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Journal of Biophilic Design
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Resurgence and Ecologist
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National Garden Scheme
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Thrive
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Royal Horticultural Society
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Zen Mind
Find out how we can help
we will send you invitations, gardening, self-care support, awareness, & more.
Contact
Lara Cowan
hello@botanicshed.com
+ 44 7747 600569
Learn how plants have a positive physiological impact on people by watching Lara’s interview with The Director of Science at The Royal Horticultural Society, Alistair Griffiths.
Learn about scientific studies proving that ‘Greener gardens promote healthier residents.’
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see all our interviews and videos.
