A little bit about the right gardener....

From starting my professional horticultural career in 1996 as an apprentice gardener for the National Trust at Wallington Gardens in Northumberland, my profession has given me the opportunity to work in  some of the worlds greatest National Trust Gardens, including Cliveden in Berkshire, Clandon Park in Surrey, and as Head Gardener for 14 years at Scotney Castle, near Tunbridge Wells.

I trained at Wallington as part of the National Trusts Apprenticeship scheme which gave me three years of formal training in Horticulture whilst studying for NVQ Levels 2 & 3, RHS General Examination and various NPTC and LANTRA qualifications at Cannington College in Somerset. The training I had at Wallington turned to the passion I had for gardening as a child into a professional career and one I have loved for the past 24 years.

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Once I qualified as a horticulturalist I jumped at the opportunity to work at Cliveden and to learn under the highly respected Head Gardener, Phillip Cotton, who taught me all about high presentation standards and attention to detail, as well as gaining the opportunity to work in all parts of the garden. These included a Formal Parterre, Rose Garden, Water Garden, Woodland, and large Herbaceous Borders.

After spending 5 years at Cliveden the opportunity arose for a new challenge and I moved to Clandon Park where I became a Gardener-in-Charge and taking the step in my career. I was responsible for managing the 9 acre garden, one other assistant gardener and a team of volunteers in maintaining a formal parterre, shrub and herbaceous borders, wild meadows, and a formal Itallianaite sunken garden. 

Two years later I was on the move again and I took the Head Gardener's position at Scotney Castle, an opportunity I thought I would never get. Scotney Castle is known to be one of the Picturesque styled gardens in the country, and it was a privelage to have the chance to be managing such a great garden. In the 14 years that I spent at Scotney Castle I managed a team of 7 Gardeners and over 50 volunteers where I wrote a garden management plan that enabled us to restore the Walled Garden,  create and manage Wild Meadows, redesign Herbaceous Beds and Shrub borders, as well as creating a new nursery and propagation area. During this time I also helped design, create and present a show garden at Chelsea Flower Show, gaining a bronze medal in the Educational Gardens category.

In 2020 I took voluntary redundancy and decided to start my own garden maintenance business, and I am now available to help you create a bit of National Trust in your own garden.

Qualifications include RHS General Certificate, NVQ Level 2 and 3 in Horticulture, Garden History, Health and Safety Management, Risk Assessments, Manual Handling, a selection on ​LANTRA and NPTC qualifications