People often ask me where I get the inspiration for my dresses. The answer is - all around me. I wake up in the morning, look out of the window and think I must be the luckiest person alive.

I was born in New Zealand and grew up in open spaces, but found I couldn't flex my wings there, so I flew off to England and made it my other home. Today I'm equally comfortable on both sides of the world.

I live in one of the most beautiful parts of Kent, surrounded by open fields. I love to walk on Romney Marsh with its sky and clouds, the huge open spaces, great flocks of swans taking off as you approach, turning pink in the setting sun, and the sound of their beating wings is so amazing …

I'm a passionate organic gardener and the garden is full of wildlife - sometimes more than I'd like - badgers, foxes, pheasants that hide in the long grass and jump out, scaring me to death.

There's even an occasional visit from a pair of wild peacocks who come and sit spectacularly on the roof of the house for a while, then flap off with a huge fuss.

I grow my own vegetables in a pretty potager. It's a ridiculous discipline, but the vegetable garden is colour coded purple, magenta and strong blue, with a tiny bit of orange to cause trouble. It's guarded by a couple of tatty stone Egyptian cats.

There's also a grass garden that's all pale straw yellow, pale mauve, ginger and deep bronze. The stipa gigantea creates a cinnamon haze right across the area in the late afternoon.

The house is a funny 60s building that sits on top of a hill, facing west. I can see over open countryside for miles and the sunsets are spellbinding. My studio is underneath the main rooms - in full view of the garden. I can open the door and listen to birds singing while I work.