I had a bit of a gap year after college and travelled, got some life experience, worked in a cardboard factory and did some stints at Anglia alpines with a focus on herbs. I then moved on to working with tomatoes in the new forest for a period.

What happens on an average day here as general manager?

There isn’t an average day in this particular position in life, the role is partly strategic looking ahead at future development, crops and investment. But too often you will deal with things coming out of left field and supporting the management team which is the biggest part of it, trying to build a team that is capable and able to do their jobs effectively. A lot of meetings and a lot of walking around giving advice. I try and get out of the office as often as I can but it’s never enough. There are days when you are attached to a computer but the walk around the site is light relief but also great to absorb what’s going on.

What would you say is the best part of your job?

I love just watching good products grow and get put out the door. Although I am not directly involved and hands on, everyone is technically involved in that process and seeing that happen makes me very proud.

Whats the most challenging part?

Its juggling those demands that come out of left field. Lots of problem solving, and that’s what makes it so interesting.

What would you say your biggest work achievement has been so far?

Getting to this position was something I had aspirations to try and do, the industry as we know it hasn’t got a lot of opportunities at higher management level so it was something I didn’t think I would ever quite get to do. I enjoy developing the business, building new glasshouses, but seeing people flourish is the other part as well.

Where do you see yourself in the future?

Seeing the businesses grow, we want to be market leading within the industry, the place people want to come and work with. I have been the general manager here for  5 years, on the nursery for 20 years from dispatch manager to operational management to here. So understanding a lot of the background has been key and its gone very quickly which I think it a testament to how enjoyable it’s been.

As a passionate plantsman I get to work with plants every day. I love propagating and nurturing them to a stage where they are of benefit to people; either for their ornamental value or edible qualities. To me, there is something very special about growing your own plants. I take joy from growing species plants, appreciating the millions of years of natural selection it has taken for them to get to where they are today. What is great about the horticultural industry is the variation of professions and disciplines it encompasses. There is a fantastic range of prospects for people of all ages, abilities and interests to engage with.

How did you get started?

Upon abruptly leaving school and a brief period of employment in my local butcher shop, I enrolled in a horticulture course at the Barony College. Whilst not really being all that interested in the academia, I took a real shine to the different elements of practical horticulture. I took a few seasonal positions in grounds maintenance, at the local garden centre and on a Christmas tree farm. These positions, whilst brief, helped me to gain work experience in different fields within the industry and to gain appreciation for the broad range of professions held under the banner of horticulture. After this, I took the leap and began working on a self-employed basis when I took on the maintenance of some local private gardens. This was a successful enterprise but it was then when I realised how little I knew and that I needed to become more knowledgeable. I enrolled on the Horticulture with Plantsmanship course delivered by SRUC and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Having access to a world-renowned plant collection, as well as mixing with host of vastly knowledgeable and experienced people, I could improve my skills both practically and academically.

What was your first job?

My first job was as a seasonal groundsman at The Chrichton Estate, Dumfries. This is a large green space consisting of Parkland, a rock garden and sports pitches. The estate is home to many local businesses and it boasts a fine collection of mature specimen trees.

What happens on an average day in your current job?

Currently I manage a garden on a private estate in south west Scotland. As I have control over my own day to day activities, I do my best to keep the work varied. There are times when I have no choice but to spend days if not weeks on one task; hedge cutting for instance. I live where I work so I generally head for the greenhouse in the morning with cup of coffee and take care of the daily watering. It is then left to the weather to dictate what tasks I can undertake that day.

What is the best part of your job?

Without doubt the best part of my job is the lifestyle that goes with it. Living in the countryside in rural surroundings is just what I’m after. I get daily visits in the garden from my children after school and nursery with them often lending a hand. I love my job simply for the fact that even if I wasn’t employed to do it; I would be practising similar activities and jobs in my own time anyway!

What is the most challenging part

The most challenging aspect of my job is time management. It can be very easy to become fixated on single tasks with other elements of the garden becoming neglected as a result. I have learned from a couple of years in this job that, for example, the grass doesn’t stop growing because I have spent the week weeding!

What would you say your biggest work achievement has been?

My biggest work achievement has certainly been getting appointed as the main gardener where I currently work. Upon setting out on my academic studies; it was exactly the kind of job I was looking to get.

What would you like to do in the future? Why?

Currently I am very content in my current place of work. But looking forward, I want to continue to promote horticulture to wider audience. As a young man who has gained a great deal personally and professionally from becoming involved in horticulture; I would like to contribute to encourage the next generation of Horticulturists. I think that having people involved in horticulture from a young age is essential to getting them to take it up as a profession and fill the clear skills shortage the industry has. I would like to work towards more horticultural pursuits becoming a mandatory part of school curriculums, which again I think would help to raise the profile of the industry. In years to come, I would like to become the next T.V. gardener.  Following in the footsteps of the likes of Percy Thrower, Jeff Hamilton, Alan Titchmarsh or Monty Don is a personal goal and an opportunity I would relish. Crucially, assuming such a role would enable me to promote what horticulture can bring to your professional and personal life.

How did you get started in Horticulture?

I failed at school, I had a year working with a nursery and landscape company before spending a residential year at Greenmount College, Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles. Our family’s long established estate agency business seemed my obvious route after leaving school. However, a lack of qualifications and the fact that the troubles had not been good for the Belfast housing market meant that the business wasn’t sustainable.

After college I heard that the National Trust were looking for a trainee gardener at Mount Stewart in Northern Ireland – I spent three years there with 6 months on sabbatical to Powis Castle in Wales, the experience at both gardens was incredible.

What projects or achievements are you most proud of?

I am proud of the work achieved in developing the gardens at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire; implementing an international programme of innovative plantings designed by major artists. I recall, on one occasion working with fashion designer, Oscar de la Renta.

Restoring and reopening the garden and wider estate at Trentham Gardens, Staffordshire is something I am very proud of. The restoration included implementing major naturalistic schemes of planting (circa 200,000 plants) by Tom Stuart-Smith, Piet Oudolf and Prof. Nigel Dunnett. Trentham went on to attract 750,000 visitors per year (from scratch). This role took me increasingly away from plants in return for overseeing the day-to-day operation as well as becoming Chair of the National Trust Gardens and Parks Committee.

More recently, however, I am very proud of the consultancy business which I set up during lockdown, with incredible thanks to those that gave me so much work during a very difficult period – this provided the start and the foundation required for my business to grow.

How do you keep up to date with your knowledge?

My consultancy role means that I am frequently visiting new gardens, some very private, and speaking to the owners, gardeners and designers. My involvement in governance and as a specialist volunteer with the National Trust, Wildlife Trust and Royal Horticultural Society (Bursaries Committee) sees me frequently mixing with incredible people and hearing about current issues.  I always feel that I learn more than I contribute, but it’s incredibly satisfying and rewarding.

What advice do you have for anyone starting out in their career?

Get experience! There are some great garden job options available, but the most difficult bit is to get some basic experience, preferably in a good place such as a historic or botanic garden. Volunteering is usually the most accessible option to begin with but then there are recognised opportunities such as the Historic and Botanic Garden Training Program; or the Professional Gardeners Guild Three Year Traineeship Programme In Horticultural Practices, where you spend a year in three different UK gardens.

The RHS offer a range of training options, some of which are delivered online. They also have great opportunities to work and train at their gardens including some new apprenticeships. My fingers are crossed that the National Trust will one day return fully to the gardener training scene.

What are the challenges in your sector?

There are so many, the lack of skills and experience in the amenity and historic garden sector means that the challenges of attaining carbon net zero, restoring the natural environment and addressing climate change are even more prescient, especially in the light of biosecurity and plant health.

We continue to lack diversity amongst our workforce, and equally in the stories that our gardens share about their history. These are perhaps the greatest social challenges we face.

What sort of skills are employers looking for in their Head Gardeners?

Appropriate experience and a demonstratable ability to deliver the high standard of horticultural maintenance, cultivation and presentation required. Sole Gardeners and Head Gardeners alike must be able to work on their own without the attention and engagement of visitors at many gardens which are seldom, if ever, open to the public. Integrity and discretion are also important, especially when working from private households.

I always look for a balance of skills and experience but also the ability to stay long enough at each place to make a difference and demonstrate that they can commit to each role. References are still important.

What sort of non-horticultural skills are required for these posts?

Impeccable communication is a must, this comes with experience and confidence – and can be trained.

Be professional and support good values. Demonstrate how your values align with the culture of that specific garden. Some gardens provide respectful and welcoming professional places to work that share a set of terrific values; but this is not consistently the case.

Private estates require some additional skills, knowing when to stand your ground and when to listen can be a steep learning opportunity and not all find the right path and approach which will enable situations which some might find challenging to overcome. 

What is meant by a garden’s “Sense of Place”, and why is it significant?

Understanding a garden or places significance, or its sense of place, these are two different aspects of understanding what a place is all about. Establishing the significance of a garden or estate is vital if the very things that are most important to it are to be carried forward in its future care and management. This might be the historic design influences, perhaps for what the place once stood for or the changes and influences it once pioneered. Equally the collection of plants or the natural assets.

Sense of place is the aspect that connects with us emotionally – the spirit of the place.  When you get it right the place comes to life in a way that is appropriate, beautiful and connects with us in a way that seems appropriate and respectful. The National Trust are particularly good at understanding sense of place, yet with such high visitor numbers the challenge to get this right is increased.  Recent improvements at Sissinghurst for example have swept away the buzz of commercialisation from the entrance and have dramatically improved the presentation of the place. The commercial aspects are there but just presented more appropriately.  Neither Sense of Place or Significance should prevent a place from moving forward, simply they provide the fundamental tools to understand and enable the garden to be managed in a way that retains its unique integrity.