Sherborne-based Castle Gardens has appointed Kyla Foster-Shaw as manager of its multi award-winning houseplants department.

Having owned and run a successful florist in Shaftesbury, Kyla has now brought a modern aesthetic to the department, expanding the range of houseplants to include new cacti, succulents and foliage plants as well as flowering varieties.

Kyla explains: “The houseplant phenomenon has really taken off in recent years, so it is an exciting time to be joining the team at Castle Gardens. As well as bringing colour, texture and interest into the home, houseplants are also known to cleanse the air and reduce stress. We’ve been guided by this while expanding the range in Sherborne and made sure to include the latest trends, so all the displays have been designed to provide inspiration for people on how to incorporate these plants into their homes.”

The Gardens Group managing director Mike Burks says: “We have a really exciting opportunity at the moment to entice a new audience into our garden centres and Kyla’s efforts at Castle Gardens are really paying off. As well as offering care advice, she is also displaying the plants in ways that can easily be translated into the home. It is so important for us to have options for everyone at our garden centres, even those with limited or no outdoor space who want to enjoy plants and engage with their environment. Houseplants are a great route into embracing horticulture, so we hope the people who are discovering the joys of these plants today will be the avid gardeners of tomorrow.”