A thatched cottage that only three years ago almost burnt to the ground has had new life breathed into it by its resourceful and creative new owner. ‘A garden and character, ’ were Harriet's only two stipulations when looking for a cottage in West Oxfordshire. Having lived in London for 20 years, ‘Ten years too long, I now realise, ’ she says, she was more than ready for a change. Since trading in her office job for her true love and vocation, Garden Design, she had grown out of flatmates, pavement pounding, parking fines and the confines of small city garden jobs and wanted to broaden her canvas to larger, greener, more varied outdoor spaces. ‘I loved the energy and diversity of London but I’m a country girl at heart, ’ she confesses.