Behind the scenes with Parham's new head gardening team

She is joined by her husband Tim Miles, who will be assistant head gardener.

“My husband visited Parham and came back saying how amazing the house is and how cool the garden was,” she explains.

“In the summer we both visited and I just loved it, so when I heard the head gardener was leaving I just thought why not.

“The job Tom Brown has done has been great so it is about maintaining what worked but also looking at the areas that need a bit more attention.”

Following a successful career in journalism, marketing and communications, Erika went on to pursue a life-long passion for horticulture, training as a community horticultural educator and volunteering with the Piedmont Master Gardeners in her hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia, in the United States.

Inspired to learn more, Erika relocated to Scotland where she was awarded a BSc degree in Horticulture with Plantsmanship from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, finishing at the top of her class.

She went on to become head gardener of a large private garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith in Kent.

“I was always interested in horticulture from a young age and always did it alongside my job but then one day I decided to take a leap and change careers,” she says.

“I decided to go to Scotland to study and it was there that I met my husband. We worked with one another at the Royal Botanic Garden.”

Tim moved into horticulture in 2014 after a career as a chef in prestigious restaurants around the world.

“Since Erika and I met at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, it has been our dream to develop a garden together, and we are especially grateful to Lady Emma and her husband James for having the vision to engage us as a team,” he says.

“We believe working with them and the existing gardeners at Parham will be a dynamic creative collaboration that will push the garden forward into a new and exciting stage of development.”

Erika adds: “I am excited to be working with my husband. We have similar tastes on things, my husband is a fantastic plant person so I am looking forward to seeing how it will work and get started with Parham House and Gardens.”

Situated in between Storrington and Pulborough Parham House is one of the country’s finest Elizabethan houses.

The four-acre 18th century Walled Garden includes a vegetable garden, orchard and 1920s Wendy house.

It has opulent mixed borders and its abundant greenhouse provides flowers and plants to decorate every room in the house, an old Parham tradition.

The adjoining Pleasure Grounds includes a lake, many specimen trees and a brick and turf maze.

“I found Parham to be such a beautiful place and loved the energy of it,” smiles Erika.

As head gardener Erika says that no two days are the same and the key to the role is people management skills.

“Plants are living things they die and thrive so you can have a plan of what you want to do but it doesn’t always work out that way.

“The weather also plays a part as well.

“You have to be artistic and creative with what you want to do.”

On Parham she says: “I plan to bring horticultural rigour, an artist’s eye and a plants person’s wide palette to develop a garden that honours its dramatic historic setting while providing an inspirational experience for its visitors.”

Parham is open to the public from April to October, www.parhamsussex.co.uk