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# Suffolk teen grows gardening business from scratch
- URL: https://www.ipswich.co.uk/suffolk-teen-grows-gardening-business-from-scratch/
- Published: 2026-09-22T07:20:10.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T07:20:10.000Z
- Description: Jack Kelly, a 16-year-old from Saxmundham, has turned a bike and a set of gardening tools into a thriving business, and is now studying horticulture to take it further.
- Author: Nicola Sebastian
- Tags: News, Suffolk New College, Youth, Suffolk Rural

**Why it matters:** Jack set up The Cycling Gardener in August 2025, aged 15, and demand grew so fast he had to scale back his client list – all while national figures show youth unemployment approaching one million.

**The details:** Kelly travels between jobs by bike, carrying his tools with him, and mainly takes on "beds and borders, lots of pruning and general maintenance." He has also worked on larger projects, including planting at the ARC in Thorpeness.

His business grew so quickly that he had to downsize his customer base from 20 clients to seven. He has since stopped taking on new customers, but continues sub-contracting for local company ABM Services.

Kelly is now expanding his knowledge with a level two horticulture course at Suffolk New College's Suffolk Rural Campus.

**What they're saying:** "I set up the company just to make some money but then I fell in love with gardening," Kelly said. "I'm not actually taking on any more customers at the moment but I'm happy to be an advocate for horticulture. I'm also keen to encourage other young people to enjoy the benefits of being outside.

I love being outside and I love the science of it. My dream would be to be part of the Chelsea Flower Show and I'd love to become a garden designer."

Kelly has advice for other young people looking to follow a similar path: "Just do it – have a strategy and ask people around you like your peers and parents for advice. I also reached out to a local company (ABM Services) and have been sub-contracting for them."

His lecturer at Suffolk Rural, David Smith, said: "Jack is a great student who is keen to learn and he is a proper inspiration to others."

**By the numbers:** Government figures show almost one million 16- to 24-year-olds are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

**The bottom line:** While youth unemployment climbs nationally, one Saxmundham teenager has built his own business from the ground up – and is determined to inspire others to do the same.

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