Lucy Hunter’s career took unexpected turns, much like the gardens she designs.
Born in Britain, Hunter began her professional life in banking. The job offered opportunities but left her longing for open spaces and the feel of soil. “I’ve always just wanted to be outside,” she said. That desire eventually led her from spreadsheets to flowers and from corporate offices to the English countryside before crossing the Atlantic.
From banking to blossoms
Hunter’s first garden was her grandmother’s—a small, untamed plot near London. Though modest, it ignited her passion. She studied fine art in college, though her parents encouraged a more conventional career. Banking seemed the practical choice, at least initially.
Success in finance brought significant projects but also growing dissatisfaction. “I was knee-deep in spreadsheets instead of compost,” she recalled. After years in the industry, she left, swapping boardrooms for flower fields. What began as a side interest evolved into a full career: garden designer, floral arranger, photographer, and author.
Her books, The Flower Hunter: Seasonal Flowers Inspired by Nature and Gathered from the Garden (2021) and The Flower Hunter: Creating a Floral Love Story Inspired by the Setting (2023), turned her preference for wild, textured arrangements into bestsellers. Instagram followers gravitated to her petal-filled posts, drawn to the same natural beauty that defined her grandmother’s garden. The images often feature flowers transformed into striking artworks.
Related: Georgianna Lane releases 14th floral photography book
A new setting, a new chapter
In 2025, Hunter relocated to Kiawah Island, South Carolina. The move began with a chance meeting during a garden tour in Provence, where she connected with her now-spouse, a South Carolina native. The Lowcountry’s environment differed sharply from her former home in Northern Wales. Instead of hedgerows, Spanish moss hung like tattered curtains. Saw palmettos replaced peonies, and an alligator occasionally appeared in her pond.
“It wasn’t anything I expected,” she said. The change, however, sparked new creativity. Her latest project, a wallpaper and textile line produced in Great Britain, reflects her new surroundings. Each design carries the name of a female and has a distinctive character.
Her studio, an airy upstairs room, became the space where she experiments with colors and patterns. Though her South Carolina garden is smaller than the meadows she once tended, it thrives—a container garden on the back porch, full of life. “I bring the outdoors in,” she explained.
The shift from banking to blooms wasn’t planned. She painted, photographed, and designed without a fixed goal, following curiosity instead. “You never know where creativity will lead,” she said. For Hunter, it led to a life where mud on her boots and paint on her hands became routine.
Her journey wasn’t about abandoning one path for another. It was about letting passion—whether for nature, art, or possibility—guide the way. If her career serves as an example, that passion has plenty of room to expand.
