Now that I have renovated my cottage in WIltshire, the garden is beginning to let the side down a bit. I have lavished love and attention on the interiork but the back garden (a boring bit of shady grass with a steep bank and fantastic views) baffles me.

For our first meeting, garden designer Helen Dooley very kindly came on a Sunday morning. Idiotically, I overslept, which at least gave her an idea of exactly what sort of weekend cottage this is. Over a hastily made cup of coffee, Helen showed me her portfolio. I discovered immedietly that she is very hot stuff indeed - and that asking her to help with this project is like asking Alexander McQueen to design me a tracksuit.

It began to dawn on me that I should, perhaps, have given the garden some thought before she arrived. All I could say was "I lkke pretty"; to which she added; "with a bit of a modern twist".

We talked about my budget and I said I thought I could stretch to a couple of grand - thinking that was very grand indeed. There was an awkward pause, then Helen gently explained to me that I could probably buy some plants for that.

Bravely undiscouraged, we strode into the garden. We stumped around, prodded things and scrambled up back into the woods. After sucking her teeth for a while, Helen promised to let me know as soon as she had come up with a scheme.

What an amazing woman. After what felt like a deeply inauspicious start, Helen has come up with something that blows me away. I thought I had been as uncommunicative as a teenger, but she picked up every single detail and has produced a scheme that I love beyond words .........