Quintessence
GARDENS, FLOWERS & EXPERIENCES
Designed for joy.
Rooted in imagination.
Made for moments.
I'm Dan. I design gardens, make flowers and run workshops, from Glossop in the High Peak.
WANDER IN ↓
FEATURED WORK · RHS SANDRINGHAM 2026 · SILVER-GILT
Between Chaos & Order
My first solo show garden: a long border on how tending plants can restore balance, clarity and connection.
Glossop Chronicle · Business Peak District · The RHS · The Cloud Gardener
AS FEATURED IN
HELLO, I'M DAN
From a high-stress cyber security career to soil under my nails.
Horticulture gave me back balance and clarity, so that's what I design for. Every scheme responds to the site, but just as much to how you want it to feel.
What I grow
Four ways to work together, from a garden you can step into to an hour that settles a busy mind.
01
From first conversation and survey to concept, layout and detailed planting.
02
A little wild, beautifully considered, and never too well behaved.
03
Ikebana, Zen and a table of flowers: an hour to slow down.
04
Ongoing care that lets a planting mature the way it was designed to.
Good to know.
What does Quintessence do?
Quintessence is my garden and flower studio in Glossop, Derbyshire: gardens, flowers and experiences. That means it's where I practise design with living things: designing gardens, designing floral installations, and designing practices that bring people joy through tending plants and flowers, like my mindful floristry workshops.
Do you do regular gardening in Glossop?
If you just want lawns mowed and hedges pruned, I'm not your guy. What I offer is garden stewardship, in Glossop, the High Peak and the Peak District. It's for people who care deeply about their garden but don't have the time to tend it themselves, and want someone with in-depth horticultural knowledge and a designer's eye who takes pride in nurturing it. It's a different thing from regular maintenance, which is why I call it something different.
Where are you based, and where do you work?
I'm based in Glossop in the High Peak. Garden design and workshops cover the High Peak, Derbyshire, Greater Manchester and the wider North West. Wedding flowers and installations travel anywhere in the UK.
Who's behind Quintessence?
Me, Dan Steel. I spent around a decade in cyber security before I swapped screens for soil and retrained in horticulture with the RHS. These days I design gardens, make flowers and get far too excited about plants most people walk past. My first RHS show garden, Between Chaos & Order, won Silver-Gilt at Sandringham in 2026.
How do I start?
Book a free 30-minute consultation online, or text me. No brief needed.