Rosefinch is run by Jonathan Swain, an RHS-qualified gardener and garden designer based around York and Harrogate
in North Yorkshire, offering services in garden maintenance, soft landscaping and garden design consultation and advice.

Ethos

I am passionate about creating beautiful gardens using sustainable gardening practices and in turn, helping to restore nature and make green spaces accessible for more people. In designing gardens, I strive to create spaces that are both sustainable and beneficial, no matter the size of the garden or green space. I am especially interested in how gardens can help provide microhabitats for wildlife, and how gardens and green spaces can be used to benefit both humans and nature in a positive way.

In my practice, consideration and care are given to both maintaining and looking after existing plants and into selecting plants that benefit pollinators and wildlife (eg. wildflowers and ornamentals) and plants that give back to people (eg. small fruit trees or edible plants in smaller gardens, and in larger gardens, areas for a small orchard or a herb garden) , acting as both a source of organic food and of aesthetic value in the garden. I also like to take an approach that considers all of the seasons in the garden, looking to include a range of autumn and winter flowering plants that will bring beauty and life to the garden all throughout the year.

I highly recommend any plants on the RHS lists of:

• Plants for pollinators

• Plants for birds

• Edible plants (fruit, vegetables, herbs)

Additionally, my own recommendations can be found here.



Résumé

Qualifications

Certificate in Horticulture (2025-26)
RHS Level 2
Certificate in the Principles and Practices of Horticulture
Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh
Certificate in Practical Horticulture
Askham Bryan College, York

BA (Hons) Arts and Humanities, 1st (2020-23)
The Open University


Courses

Course in Climate Solutions (2026)
University of Edinburgh & Monterrey Institute of Technology

Course in Horticulture (2025)
Garden Design and Planting Design
Plant Biology and Plant Propagation
University of the Highlands and Islands