Andrew completed his BSc in Horticulture with Plantsmanship at SRUC in 2020, was a finalist in the Scottish Regional Young Horticulturist of the Year Competition in 2022, and is currently challenging traditional approaches to garden maintenance with the goal of creating the most eco-friendly garden in the National Trust as Head Gardener at Greenbank Garden.
“When I left high school, I did not really know what I wanted to do, I had absolutely no clue. I remember listening to a really interesting TED talk from Mike Rowe, who is a presenter on ‘Dirty Jobs’ in America. He basically said that some of the most successful people he has met in his life have seen where the crowd is going and gone in the opposite direction. So, I thought everyone's becoming more and more obsessed with technology and modernising nowadays, I want go in the opposite direction, and I want to get a job with grass. So now I watch grass grow, essentially.
“I heard through a friend who had a gardening business at the time that practical knowledge for gardening was very important so I went to Clyde College and I applied for their most practical course. Even though I could have gone for a HNC, I went for the NC, and I loved it.
“Then basically I didn't stop. I did the City and Guilds, HNC, and then after a bit of volunteering at the Glasgow Botanic Gardens, I applied for a Plantsmanship degree at RBGE. I was fortunate enough to get in and I learned so much about horticulture and the industry of horticulture, and how prominent the UK is being a staple of horticulture and design landscapes.
“I'm so proud I did this because I feel like I am protecting Scotland's heritage and just being a gardener is so cool, you know, I absolutely love it. It is the complete opposite from the fast-paced rush nowadays: stop, take a breath, enjoy nature, and that is what gardening is.”
“Absolutely, there is never a bad time to become a gardener; there is always a good time to become a gardener. It was poignant that after COVID a lot of people realised that what they had been doing for so many years was just not what they wanted to do. They longed for a change of pace, and so many people appreciated their green spaces to get out and take in the fresh air.
“I feel like now is the time to become a gardener, follow that rush, especially with greater environmentally conscious understanding of the world today where people are pushing boundaries, I absolutely say that you will not regret it.”
Catch up with the rest of Andrew's chat on the 'Scotland Grows Show'.
Victoria George is the Technical Apprenticeship Lead at SRUC, Scotland’s Rural College, where she has developed the first degree-level apprenticeships for the land-based sector in Scotland.
She is also the National Organiser for the Chartered Institute of Horticulture’s ‘Young Horticulturist of the Year’ competition, a competition open UK and Ireland wide to find the brightest horticultural minds under 30 years old.
“I had some health issues and needed to reduce the stress levels, and I just started faffing about in the garden. I did not really know what I was doing so thought I could maybe do a short course. I did my national certificate, and 6 weeks in, I was like, where has this been all my life?
“And then it just sort of snowballed from there. I took more qualifications, did a garden green space design degree, and ended up lecturing in horticulture. So, within 5 years, I have gone from not knowing one end of a weed to the other, to teaching other people about it.
“I get so passionate when I speak to youngsters about getting into this as a career because it was not on the cards when I was at school, it was not talked about.”
“Definitely, I think the scope for horticulture is so wide. You have everything from the science side of it with botany and plant DNA, through to botanical art and photography, and things that are careers within themselves. It is not all mowing lawns and cutting hedges, it is so much more than that.
“If you are at school, you can do a national progression award, apply for work experience, or volunteer in a botanical garden or with the National Trust of Scotland.
“For career changers, my piece of advice is look at how you are going to be able to do it rather than worrying about not being able to give up your job. There are lots of different ways to learn now like distance learning or taking qualifications over different lengths of time. There are no age limits on modern apprenticeships so that is a really good way in for career changers, they can earn as they learn.
“If you already have a career, perhaps you are working in mental health or in a care home - which is my background, I have qualifications in health and social care - is there a way you can combine what you know and the qualifications you have with your interest in horticulture? Horticultural therapy is a growing field so there are a plethora of opportunities within that.”
Catch up with the rest of Victoria’s chat on the 'Scotland Grows Show'.
Kate McClorey left a high-powered IT career to turn her gardening hobby into a new career. Completing the RHS L2 with distinction, a 6 month course at RBGE in practical gardening to help back up the theory, followed by a WRAGS (Work and Retrain as a Gardener Scheme) placement at Floors Castle in Kelso, Kate is now Assistant Head Gardener at Floors Castle.
“It just got to the stage where I knew that my job was not fulfilling me and I was not happy. My happy place, more and more, I was finding, was in my garden. So, one day I just decided, I am not going to do this anymore, I am not enjoying it anymore.
“So, I bit the bullet, did some research, and decided that if I was going to be a horticulturist or a plantswoman or a gardener or garden designer, then I was going to make that a career rather than a hobby. I then signed up for the RHS course and started from there.”
“I did not find the retraining itself hard, I loved every minute of that. I think what I found hard initially was the shock that you are not treated as others are in a profession. The differential in terms of salary was one thing that was a big consideration for me, it was a massive difference in lifestyle and the expectations which I had.
“The other thing that was hard for me was the weather and the fitness levels. I was really worried if I would be fit enough to do a gardening job and because I am a bit older, I did not want to be the gardener who could not lift the bags of compost and not do the job. So, I signed up for a gym and I actually did a training program to make sure that I was fit enough to carry out the work. It is not a job you can underestimate, it is physical and you are out in all weathers.
“People say to me, in the winter you must hate it, I just love it. I think the weather does not bother you if you love it, but it is hard at first and it is a change. If you happen to be an older career changer, just the whole thing of going back to school and learning again and not being the ‘go to’ person and having to ask other people, that is quite hard.
“Just learning how to learn again was quite difficult at first I found, but I am really glad I did it and enjoyed every minute. It was well worth it.”
“One piece of advice I have for people, is there are so many different aspects to horticulture. I thought I wanted to be a garden designer but when I started doing the job, I found I actually loved gardening and getting my hands in the soil so I am glad I picked the RHS course because that gives you a good grounding for whatever avenue you go down. You need those basics and it gave me more confidence I think, more than anything else, that I actually understood how to sow a seed, which habitats plants preferred and why plants did certain things.
“Then as that course went on I realised, although it was great, it was all theoretical, a lot online and not a lot of actual hands-on experience and I wanted to get that. So, I signed up for the six-month course with the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh over the weekends and it reinforced the theory in the RHS course.
“Then I came across the WRAGS scheme and that really resonated with me because it worked for people like me, slightly older, who wanted to retrain as a gardener, and that is really what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to work in heritage gardens as well and they tended to place you in gardens like that. I was really lucky to get the placement at Floors Castle and work for two days a week for a year. It is a two year placement with the head gardener and the team and they train you on the job.
“That was a real learning curve as although the basics are there, actually doing the job and picking up on all those years of experience that some of the people around me have, is amazing and it is great to work in a garden like that.
“I have now taken another step forward and am studying again with the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh to do their Diploma in the History of Garden Design, looking at historical gardens right from Roman times up to date.
“I think you are very lucky if you find a career that you really love. I wish I had done it years ago, although I probably was not brave enough then!”
Catch up with the rest of Kate’s chat on the 'Scotland Grows Show'.
Ann Steele has been a professional horticulturist for more than 25 years with work-based experience primarily in the care, conservation, and development of heritage gardens and designed landscapes, beginning her route into horticulture as a volunteer at Inverewe Garden.
“There is no doubt that volunteering is a great way to start if you can do it. If you can spend time with a professional gardener you get a real sense of what it is all about. I was super fortunate to land my position with the National Trust for Scotland as a volunteer, because back in the day, there was not such a tradition of people volunteering to start in horticulture. As soon as I began, I just got stuck in with absolute gusto but I am conscious that not everybody can afford to do that. Sometimes people need to work full time, so sometimes they are restricted to volunteering at a weekend or within school holidays or whenever it happens to be.
“It depends on where somebody is in their journey. If they just have a bit of a notion, it is good to actually spend time outdoors in something related. Even if it does not happen to be gardening, there are lots of conservation volunteering type groups as well. Just be aware that it is a pretty physical job in terms of being outdoors in all weathers, and certainly for our gardeners, that is definitely the case. You want to be sure you are doing the right thing for you.
“When we are looking to recruit on our apprenticeship programme for example, we look for things like transferable skills as well. These include people who are quite handy, or craft-orientated, or keen cooks, or people who are artistic, or interested in outdoor stuff like hill walking or camping and those sorts of things. There are all sorts of relevant and relatable skills that people can have and they are all valid in a sense.
“Oh, for sure. I suppose it is testament to the fact that it was the right career choice that I am doing it during the day in some aspect, it might be policy and strategy, and then I am doing it at home and I have an allotment. When I get a bit of a break, I often visit a garden or am meeting up with other gardeners. It becomes a way of life.
“It is endlessly interesting, whether we are talking about the plants themselves or gardens and aspects of gardens and gardening. It is a very generous world, the world of gardening.”
Catch up with the rest of Ann's chat on the Scotland Grows Show.
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