It is with great sadness that the family of DigwithDorris today announce the passing of Dorris, whose real name was Rebecca. She died at home in early December 2020.
Rebecca was an exceptional landscape gardener and horticulturalist, who worked on countless projects, both big and small, to transform outdoor spaces into dynamic natural landscapes. For the past five years she has shared her gardening journey, transforming a sparse goat paddock into a stylish and insect-friendly space that has become the hub of family life.
Rebecca’s DigwithDorris blog, inspired by the nickname her colleagues gave her while working at a garden estate on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, was a great source of joy.
Each week she would dedicate time to photographing the parts of her gardens and the plants she came across that brought her happiness. She loved to share this with all of her followers; family, friends and strangers alike. She greatly enjoyed seeing other bloggers gardens and communicating with like-minded green-fingered people. Some of her greatest friends were made through a shared love of nature.
She loved visiting other people’s gardens, discovering new plants and creating spaces that each year would grow and change. She thrived when faced with the challenges of each new season and created peaceful outdoor spaces that encapsulated the feeling of being at home.
She first opened her garden for the National Garden Scheme in 2018 and since then has raised over £3000. Her children, Gabriel and Phoebe, would like to continue this fundraising in her memory. The National Garden Scheme is an organisation supporting charities which Rebecca cared so dearly for and worked so hard to contribute to.
Rebecca was a much loved Mother, Daughter, Sister, Aunt and friend. She was endlessly supportive, deeply talented and so much fun to be around.
She will live on in the people who loved her and the gardens she transformed.
If you should like to donate to the NGS in Rebecca’s memory and have the means to do so, then the link to the JustGiving page is below.
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/barker-rebecca
All the photos and videos included in this post were taken by Rebecca (or are a photo of her).
digwithdorris.com 
Rest in peace, Rebecca.
What an awful loss . May flowers bloom on her grave in abundance 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
What a great loss to the blogging community and to gardening and of course to her family, colleagues and friends. Her knowledge and sense of humour were such a great source of joy.
I learnt so much from her and glad to say I met her at Chelsea Flower Show.
We swapped plants, seeds and information.
What a shock, what a sadness.
Much love to her family.
I was so sad to read this about lovely Dorris. What a shock. We will all miss her wonderful blog; her enthusiasm and love of plants and her beautiful garden which she shared so generously.
Goodbye dear Dorris – I wonder if you knew just how much you would be missed by your blogging friends. It has been a pleasure to share a small part of your journey through life
What a terrible shock to read this. My heartfelt sympathy to all the family. Dorris, you will be missed. Personally I shall miss your posts and humour and your beautiful photos of your garden. We shared a love of Calamagrostis and Verbena bonariensis. 💕 My thoughts are with your family Dorris. xx
I am sorry to read this sad post. I always enjoyed Dorris’s garden and flowers.
Such a sad loss, for her family and friends, and the blogging community. She will be missed. ❤
So sorry to read of your loss. I have many fond memories of Rebecca.
That is such sad news. My condolences to her family. May she Rest In Peace.
My sympathies. I always enjoyed reading her posts here and looking at her lovely pictures. xx
So sorry to read this news. I will greatly miss Dorris’ posts, comments and enthusiasm. She has created a beautiful legacy. My thoughts are with her family and friends.
I planted some Penstemon this fall she had highlighted in a post and recommended. I told her I’d bought it but am sad I won’t be able to share its bloom time with her. She was generous and kind and will be missed. I send sincere condolences to her family. Peace.
Dorris was a lovely lady and blog friend, thank you for letting us know she left our virtual garden. My condolences.