From working as a caseworker in politics to creating beautiful crafts from seed heads, dried flowers and other natural materials, Nikki Bond has taken a very different path to gardening. 

Her journey has been shaped by major life changes including becoming a mother, moving her mum to Sheffield and then losing her to terminal cancer, before navigating the uncertainty of Covid-19 pandemic.

At the time, she was working in a fast-paced and emotionally demanding role – as a caseworker for the Labour MP Louise Haigh – dealing with issues including the crisis in Afghanistan. With so much happening in her personal and professional life, she realised she no longer has the emotional capacity to manage it all. Her husband already ran a gardening business, so she made the decision to leave her career to join him in the gardening world. 

Although gardening was initially a new career direction, it was not a completely unfamiliar field for Nikki. At home, she always enjoyed planting pots and borders, but it was during lockdown, while on maternity leave, that she began joining her husband on landscaping projects in which she quickly discovered how much she enjoyed being outdoors, working more hands on and getting into the soil.

Moving from her previous career was striking. She described moving from a people-focused professional career to one where she could slow down and work closely with nature. She mentions that the “stress levels dropped significantly”.

Leaving politics has changed the way she thinks about success. Dedicating a lot of her time in the past to campaigning on issues of equality and fairness, she still believes strongly in the power of campaigning to create change. However, losing her mum at just 57 while adjusting to motherhood and living through a global pandemic fundamentally changed her thoughts about success. Now Nikki is driven more organically, by listening to her intuition and being more open to signs from the universe. 

That connection with nature has also shaped her creative work. What began as an interest in the flowers and stems left behind in the gardens she worked on, Nikki has developed a passion for giving discarded plants a second life. 

Seedheads, dried flowers, moss, bark and leaves are collected and transformed into everlasting crafts with each season offering something different to craft with which she also regularly runs workshops, sharing her knowledge and creativity with others. 

Her Peak District studio has become a place for experimentation, where natural materials can be combined to create something completely different from their original purpose. Dried flowers offer a different kind of beauty to fresh blooms, with their textures, shapes and muted colour creating arrangements that can last longer than traditional bouquets. 

Nikki is fascinated by seedheads and their incredible variety of shapes, textures and colours. Some retain the appearance of the original flower, while others, such as honesty, transform completely once they produce their seedheads. 

Her inspiration comes from many places; soon after her gardening work took off she completed a workshop with natural-material artist Jane Bevan and was inspired by creative accounts on Instagram and most importantly nature itself. However, the changing seasons dictate what materials are available, making each stage of the year part of the creative process.

Although spring and summer remain her favourite seasons, bringing the optimism of emerging bulbs after winter from the ground and this is when seedheads are ready to be harvested. Working on the same gardens year after year means she can anticipate what will appear, something she describes as particularly valuable for anyone struggling with mental health difficulties, that is such a blessing and stress reliever. 

Winter brings a different type of creativity. Although Nikki mentioned how she suffers from seasonal affective disorder SAD throughout the winter months as this season brings memories of losing both her mum and grandad. Yet, even during the darker months, she finds moments of creativity and connection through collecting materials for wreath making and running workshops where she can share her craft with others. There is a quieter magic to gardening, too, one of her favourite parts of the job is knowing what is beneath the soil before anything appears above it. “It’s like a special secret between me and the earth,” she says. 

Her working life has also had to adapt again recently, as her son has recently been in autistic burnout causing her to drift away from routine and schedule she has been used to, whilst caring for him. Nikki finds this challenging at times but has taught herself a different approach to work and life which she is grateful for by slowing down and taking it step at a time.

A perfect working day for Nikki is simple; blue skies, shining sun and a friendly robin that often visits and ideally a bucket full of materials to craft with! She enjoys quieter moments of being outside, surrounded by nature and able to focus on what is happening around her. For Nikki, it is these small moments that make gardening so rewarding, from seeing what has emerged in the garden to discovering an interesting seed head or flower that could inspire her next piece. 

The biggest lesson from Nikki’s journey has been the importance of slowing down. Gardening and crafting have changed the way she views productivity, reconnects with nature, helping her to heal and become more present and appreciate what is right in front of you instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. After such a significant change in her life, success now looks different, not necessarily about how much can be achieved, but about finding joy in the small things. 

To find out more, visit Nikki’s website or find her on social media. For details of the upcoming workshops, click here.