About me

Veronica Peerless

I have worked in publishing for over 20 years, first as a sub editor, then as assistant and deputy editor on various consumer and customer magazines. I’m now a freelance writer and editor, specialising in gardening.

I caught the gardening bug in the Noughties, when I bought a housing association flat in London. The outlook was grim (the Willesden High Road) but there was a large, south-facing balcony, which I set about turning into a jungle. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to study horticulture part-time, followed by garden design at Capel Manor College. 

At the same time I started working on Which? Gardening magazine, first as assistant editor, then deputy editor. I commissioned, edited and wrote features and produced four pages of news for every issue. I learned a lot about all aspects of gardening, from which products and techniques really work to the best varieties of flowers, fruit and veg to grow. I also discovered that it’s fine to prune your roses with a hedgetrimmer.

In 2013 I moved to Bath and went freelance, working variously for The English Garden as features editor, the Garden Design Journal as section editor, and at www.gardenersworld.com as content editor. I was horticultural editor on The Gardener’s Year (DK, 2014), wrote How Not To Kill Your Houseplant (DK, 2017) and contributed to two other books. I’ve also written features on all aspects of gardening, design and houseplants. 

In the meantime, I finally got my own garden. It was a blank canvas when I moved in, and I’ve applied what I’ve learned along the way to shape the long, sloping and exposed plot. You can follow its progress on Instagram.