Meet The Gardeners
Meet The Gardeners
Ever wondered who cares for the incredible plant collections, comes up with the garden development ideas, and gets to call these glorious gardens their office?
This season we launched our Meet the Gardeners campaign and went behind the scenes at Cornwall’s most beautiful gardens, chatting to Head Gardeners and owners at all 14 of The Great Gardens.
Our Meet the Gardeners campaign gives you direct access to the passionate and hugely talented people who know these gardens best. From rare plant enthusiasts to hybridisation specialists and conservationists, each Head Gardener shares what makes their garden unique, and what to look out for on your next visit.
Discover their favourite spots, hear about their biggest garden achievements and toughest challenges, take on their garden “eye spy” challenges and find out what profession they’d have chosen if they hadn’t been a natural-born gardener.
Read the full series of 14 episodes here, and see these magical gardens through the eyes of the experts who bring them to life – and pick up a few gardening tips along the way!
Click on the Gardener you’d like to ‘Meet’
Richard Squires, Head Gardener at Antony Woodland Garden
Sue Nathan, Owner at Bonython Estate Garden
Jaimie Parsons, Head Gardener at Caerhays Castle & Gardens
Catherine Cutler, Interim Head of Horticulture, Eden Project
Danny Konik, Head Gardener at Lamorran House Gardens
Nicola Bradley, Head Gardener at The Lost Gardens of Heligan
Claire Batten, Co-Head Gardener at Minack Theatre Garden, a role shared with Jeff Rowe
Darren Dickey, Head Gardener at Trebah Garden
Neil Bennett, Head Gardener at Tregothnan
Tom Hudson, Owner at Tregrehan Garden
Alex Goodyear, Head Gardener at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens
Andrew Lawson, Head Gardener at Tresco Abbey Gardens
Richard Morton, Head Gardener at Trewidden Garden
Gary Long, Head of Gardens and Parks at Trewithen
Richard Squires, Head Gardener at Antony Woodland Garden
💚 Introducing Richard: “The part of my role that I love the most is being outside in a beautiful environment that changes every day.”
🌿 Richard’s favourite areas: “The Camellia Valley, a feeling of a wild overgrown wilderness with a spectacular display of colours. The Riverside path with views across the River Lynher.”
👀 Richard’s eye spy challenge: “You might be lucky and see a kingfisher flash across the Bath Pool.”
💚 Richard’s successes: “Camellias. No trouble at all. They don’t seem to need too much water. We’ve got so many they seem to be in flower for months, and if they get too large, you can just cut them back knowing that they will grow back.”
💪 Richard’s biggest test: “The sheer scale of trying to manage 100 acres of woodland on my own, but so satisfying when a project is completed according to plan. I prioritise, don’t waste time on anything that isn’t relevant, and don’t persist if the plan isn’t working.”
🌴 Richard’s top 3 gardening tips: “Research, plan, try things on a small scale first.”
🍃 Richard’s advice to new gardeners: “A common gardening mistake is planting too many plants in too small a space. How can people avoid this? Look at mature specimens of what you want to plant with particular reference to size and give things enough space to thrive.”
💚 Richard’s career in a parallel universe: “Historian.”
🌿 Richard’s one wish for the future: “That it continues to thrive for generations to come.”
Antony Woodland Garden is Cornwall’s best-kept secret – have you visited yet? 🌿
Sue Nathan, Owner at Bonython Estate Garden
💚 Introducing Sue: Sue Nathan is a botanical artist – and her garden at Bonython is her most spectacular canvas yet!
🌿 Sue’s favourite areas: “In spring, the valley has magnificent colour with azaleas, rhododendrons, bluebells and wild garlic all in flower together. In summer the lakes and walled garden stand out for their summer colour.”
🍃 Sue’s proud of: “Growing a Chapel made of Yew. Pews from Lonicera Baggens gold and a cross made from oak.”
💪 Sue’s successes: “Magnolias, azaleas, and ornamental grasses. These have thrived in the environment and soil in the garden.”
💨 Sue’s biggest challenge: “Wind and weather. We have to choose plants that can cope with both.”
🌴 Sue’s top gardening three tips: “Don’t plant in ones – plant in threes or fives. Always plant what grows well in your soil and weather conditions. Don’t over crowd.”
🌿 Sue’s wish for the future of the garden: “Somebody to love it the way I do and carry it forward into the future”.
Add a visit to Bonython Estate Gardens to your life list this spring / summer… 🌿
Jaimie Parsons, Head Gardener at Caerhays Castle & Gardens
💚 Introducing Jaimie: “After 30 years at Caerhays, I can say with certainty that the garden never stands still. We see the gardens develop every day, and every year we are reaping the rewards of our past efforts. There’s an ancient Greek proverb that springs to mind that says – A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.”
✨ Jaimie’s proud of: “The new areas we have created over the years, increasing the gardens from 60 acres to 140 acres and several acres in the planning.”
💚 Jaimie’s loves: “Hybridising magnolias – which I first started in 1996, with some already successful, some yet to flower and some failures.”
🌸 Jaimie’s favourite moments: “Planting ornamentals and planting up woodlands. Watching the gardening team climb trees that they have planted to retrieve flowers and seeds, and seeing how proud they are that all their hard work has paid off.”
🌿 Jaimie’s must-see area: “The newly planted areas around the garden, in particular in the 12-acre field we planted in 2006, called Kennel Close. You can admire the young magnolia flowers better, you don’t get ‘magnolia neck’ as we call it!”
🌴 Jaimie’s top 3 gardening tips: “Test the soil to see what will tolerate the PH. Prepare the ground well, feed, water and mulch. Always give the plants a good start and you will be rewarded. Don’t waste your time and money when things aren’t doing well, rip it out and start again… life’s too short!”
💪 Jaimie’s biggest tests: “For most woodland gardens, the weather, especially the wind, is the biggest challenge. Very often, trees are blown over in the garden, taking many valuable hours to clear. Planting and maintaining new and old windbreaks is a constant part of our ongoing plan, protecting the gardens from the weather for future generations. Squirrels and deer cause copious amounts of damage to the wildlife, ornamentals and woodland trees.”
🍃 Jaimie’s advice to new gardeners: “Check out your neighbour’s garden to see what grows well in the area.”
💚 Jaimie’s one wish for the future: “Like many gardeners that are passionate about their garden, long may these gardens continue into the hands of the next caretaker, and here’s hoping that they are as passionate about the wealth of plants as their predecessors.”
Caerhays Castle & Gardens is a spring wonderland and closes for the season in early June. So if you haven’t visited yet this season, get a date in the diary soon 🌿
Catherine Cutler, Interim Head of Horticulture, Eden Project
💚 Introducing Catherine: “I love being involved with so many different aspects of Horticulture – from the hard landscape construction, to exhibit planning and plant selection, all across tropical, mediterranean and temperate collections”.
🌿 Catherine’s favourite areas: “The rainforest is an essential must see, there’s simply just no experience quite like it – it’s really easy to even forget you are inside! The Korean exhibit shares one of the planet’s finest regeneration stories, the ‘Feeding the Future’ exhibit gets into the nuts and bolts of where our food really comes from and what we can do to improve our systems, whilst the Japanese garden is a calm oasis.”
👀 Catherine’s eye spy challenge: “Unusually for public gardens the Eden Project grows a multitude of crop plants that we rely on, on a daily basis – look out for coffee, chocolate and sugar in the rainforest. Eden also grows some very rare, endangered and special plants, such as the Mulanje cedar (Widdringtonia whytei) from Malawi, the blessed palm (Tahina spectabilis) from Madagascar and the UK’s own native yet endangered Juniper (Juniperus communis subsp.hemisphaerica)”.
💪 Catherine’s biggest tests: “We’ve had our fair share of challenges over the years, from beds being washed away in rainstorms, multiple flooding events, landslides, pest outbreaks causing us to remove whole exhibits and established plants and the lack of maintenance during covid. Currently one of the biggest challenges we face is managing non-native invasive species (such as Rhododendron ponticum) in an ecologically sound way.”
🌴 Catherine’s top three tips: “Mulch generously (it keeps moisture in, reduces weed growth and gives a more aesthetic finish). Make your own compost (and use it to grow beautiful plants and tasty crops). Grow what wants to grow in your location (don’t fight nature and get failures). Enjoy your own garden and visiting others…oops that’s four!”
💚 Catherine’s career in a parallel universe: “A roofer, or more likely a builder (bit more variety) as I love being outside and creating things – and in my ‘spare’ time a travel writer as I love visiting and exploring new places.”
💚 Catherine’s wish for the future: “To be leading by example in creating a world-standard horticultural extravaganza, using ecologically sound regenerative techniques which improve the world around us!”
Danny Konik, Head Gardener at Lamorran House Gardens
💚 Introducing Danny: “I love Learning. I’ve learnt so much in the past year and studying and understanding the growing conditions and the minute differences in the unique microclimate here has been incredibly interesting – and tending such a unique collection of plants is also a privilege.”
🌿 Danny’s favourite area: “For me I love the jungle area with the two imposing cyathea smithii surrounded by the bananas and the enormous phyllostachys vivax. In the summer the shadow and movement in this area is magical.”
👀 Danny’s eye spy challenge: “Look out for our Juana australis palm, it is critically endangered in the wild so to have such an impressive specimen here is a privilege. We also have an enormous cyathea medularis with jet-black fronds that looks incredible.”
💚 Danny’s in love with: “My trusty Felco 2’s. I’ve had them for nearly 14 years now and they go everywhere with me.”
💪 Danny’s biggest test: “The garden is incredibly steep in places and access is limited so from a purely practical level it can be tricky moving things like mulch and large plants around. This also makes it a physically demanding space to work in but as someone who likes to keep fit I actually enjoy this aspect of the job.”
🌴 Danny’s top gardening tip: “Time! Work out how much time you have spare to tend to your garden and then design around that. There is no point designing a high maintenance garden if you only have/or are willing to spare 30 minutes a week.”
🍃Danny’s mantra: “Failure is part of gardening. In the age of Instagram, we often only see the successes of gardeners, but the reality is plants die and sometimes for no discernible reason. It happens to all gardeners so don’t worry about it.”
💚 Danny’s career in a parallel universe: “I’m interested in psychology so I would have liked to have been a counsellor/therapist.”
💚 Danny’s one wish for the future: “That we continue to be frost-free.” Fun fact – Lamorran hasn’t had a frost since 1987!
Lamorran House Gardens is open for the season and awaiting your visit… 🌿
Nicola Bradley, Head Gardener at The Lost Gardens of Heligan
💚 Introducing Nicola: “I love the fact that I get to come to work in such an amazing place each day… I never stop thinking how lucky I am to be a part of that, it’s such a privilege!”
🌿 Nicola’s in love with: “My dandelion weeder! There is something so very satisfying about easing out a weed and realising you have the whole root perfectly removed in one go… it’s the simple pleasures in life that count!”
💚 Nicola’s proud of: “We grow over 500 varieties of heritage vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs in our productive gardens. It’s great to see a resurgence of interest in these older varieties and hopefully over the last 30 years of growing and championing them here at Heligan, we’ve gone some way to help influence that resurgence.”
🌿 Nicola’s wildlife tip: “Where possible, it’s good to be a little less tidy and give the wildlife in our gardens a bit of a helping hand. At home I have put lots of leaves, hedge clippings and some thick woody branches under some of my larger shrubs… and I now regularly see 2 or 3 hedgehogs out in my garden at night.”
💚 Nicola’s one wish for the future: “I hope the garden continues to thrive and there are still gardeners here to look after it in the next 100 years. We can’t know what the future holds, but I would hope that people will still appreciate the importance of nature and how important it is for us as human beings to be connected to the soil and the plants that grow in it. How we do that may change, but I hope our passion for it remains just as strong.”
Nicola shared all this and so much more in our recent chat:
www.greatgardensofcornwall.co.uk/event/meet-the-gardeners-lost-gardens-of-heligan/
Claire Batten, Co-Head Gardener at Minack Theatre Garden, a role shared with Jeff Rowe
💚 Introducing Claire: “We’re in a unique position in that we share the Head Gardener role. Being able to bounce ideas off each other and playing to our individual strengths means we achieve so much more and quicker. We are left to our own devices in the organisation and as long as we ‘keep within budget’ we are pretty much allowed to do what we want.”
✨ Claire’s proud of: “As the smallest of the Great Gardens, it is essential that all the beds you see in the garden have the ‘wow factor’ or at least are full of interest/colour. Not all our visitors come here for the garden, so making use of colour is really important. If we have to choose one bed that stands out, it would be the Aeonium Trial bed that has been run in conjunction with the RHS.”
💚 Claire’s successes: “Without question, the Aeoniums are one of the stars of the garden. Although these plants originate from the Canary Islands, they seem pretty happy on the Cornish coast despite being a little wetter and colder. We rarely have a frost and they just love our well-drained soil. We experience extremely high light levels in the garden, this aids the growth of thick leathery leaves during the winter months, helping to withstand the gale force winds we can be subjected to.”
🌿 Claire’s must-see plants: “Where do we start? We hold one of the largest collections of Aeoniums grown outside in the UK. Due to our unique climate, we are able to grow a huge range of Proteaceae including Banksia, Hakea, Protea, Leucadendron and Leucospermum. Look out for our ever-expanding collection of rare South African Succulents.”
🌴 Claire’s top 3 gardening tips: “1. If you want to grow succulents, the key is plenty of drainage, add as much grit as you can to combat the winter wet. 2. If you want to grow really interesting, more tender plants, create small microclimates within your garden. 3. We use a phrase in this garden – ’small gains’ – as long as you do something every week that is an improvement, you are going in the right direction.”
💪 Claire’s biggest test: “Gale force winds are our nemesis. You can’t have a view without wind and boy do we get wind! Creating small microclimates is the only way to achieve any protection. By the clever use of a large rock or a hardier plant, we create little pockets to plant in.”
🍃Claire’s advice to new gardeners: “There is a reason gardeners are always blathering on about the ‘right plant for the right position’. Do your homework and try to avoid impulse purchases.”
💚Jeff & Claire’s careers in a parallel universe: Jeff: Blacksmith, I like being creative with my hands and love working with different materials. Claire: Musician, I play tenor saxophone and for many years played in soul and big bands.
💚 Claire’s one wish for the future: “That the winds never blow again above 20 miles an hour. But seriously, we want to improve the plant collections and become a world-renowned destination garden.”
The Minack is more than a theatre – it is one of the greatest garden experiences in the UK! Book your visit today 🌿
Darren Dickey, Head Gardener at Trebah Garden
💚 Introducing Darren: “I have loved being a part of the continual development of the garden over the last 30 years. We have a fantastic spring display from the historic collection of Arboroium rhododednrons, camellias and Magnolia. In summer the herbaceous borders come alive with colour and it is lovely to watch the pollinators enjoying the nectar-rich supply of food. The garden has good autumn and winter appeal too – scented plants play a part in adding that extra layer of interest.”
🌿 Darren’s favourite areas: “The gunnera plantation was originally planted in the 1950’s – marvel at its scale as you wonder under the giant leaves on your way through gunnera passage. We also have over two acres of mostly blue hydrangea macrophylla flow down through the bottom half of the garden, creating quite the spectacle during the summer months.”
👀 Darren’s eye spy challenge: “Trebah’s granite built Amphitheatre is home to summer plays, musical events and children’s theatre during the school holidays.”
💚 Darren’s loves: “The historic collection of Arborium rhododendrons, some of which were grown specifically for the Fox family and some named after Trebah or its owners.
🍦Darren’s recommended pitstop: “Trebah’s Private beach – what better way to unwind than enjoying the crystal clear water of the Helford estuary and Trebah’s private beach. In the spring and summer enjoy a generous helping of Roskilly’s ice cream from the boathouse cafe.”
🌴 Darren’s top 3 gardening tips: “1. Mulch to preserve moisture. 2. Where you can, try to spare an area for more wild plantain that will help native flora establish and help preserve our pollinators. 3. Encourage more birds into the garden as they help with pest control and use less chemicals – as the beneficial insects are also a good way of controlling garden pests.”
💪 Darren’s biggest test: “Dry summers would be the biggest challenge we face. Where we can we mulch to help lock in moisture during extended periods of dry weather.”
🍃Darren’s advice to new gardeners: “It is far easier to kill a plant by overwatering than underwatering. Do your research as to suitable growing conditions as light levels, exposure to wind and soil conditions can have a major impact on plant health.”
💚 Darren’s career in a parallel universe: “Wildlife conservation.”
💚 Darren’s one wish for the future: “That the garden will be here for all to enjoy for many generations to come.”
Trebah Garden is open year round and offers visitors a different experience in every season 🌿
Neil Bennett, Head Gardener at Tregothnan
💚 Introduding Neil: “I love being able to continually improve the plant collection at Tregothnan and to develop and improve new areas, working closely with Lord and Lady Falmouth to bring their vision of the garden to fruition.”
🙏 Neil’s golden rule: “I would say doing the simplest of tasks really well, like using a half moon to get a lovely crisp edge on your flower borders. Even if a lawn looks scraggly from not being cut, as long as there is a nice edge it will hide a multitude of sins as the eye will always go to the edges. Make sure the edges are completely vertical and not on a slant so don’t stand too far back while using edging shears.”
🍃 Neil’s proud of: “Plants of the Camellia genus must rank as one of Tregothnan’s crowning achievements, along with the superb Rhododendrons and Magnolias which are spread all throughout the garden. Tregothnan was the first to pioneer planting Camellias outside over two hundred years ago and the original plants are still going strong bringing a burst of colour in spring.”
🌿 Neil’s favourite feature: “The Tea plantation is definitely something unique to Tregothnan as the Camellia sinensis plants have been growing here since 1999 and the tea is being sold throughout the world with a reputation for unrivalled excellence.”
🦔 Neil’s wildlife tip: “It is nice to also not cut down herbaceous plants too early as the seeds are great for the birds so I always leave our herbaceous borders until the end of winter/beginning of spring until I clear the gone over foliage.”
💚 Neil’s career in a parallel universe: “If I wasn’t a gardener I would have liked to have trained as a solicitor as I find the law very interesting.”
💚 Neil’s one wish for the future: “To continually improve the plant collection as well as the aesthetic beauty of the garden for the owners of Tregothnan.”
Tom Hudson, Owner at Tregrehan Garden
💚 Introducing Tom: “I have a great passion for collecting, growing and nurturing rare and exotic plants and trees from all over the world – this is often in collaboration with Kew and other major plant collections. I also feel it is really important to share knowledge and experience of plants and trees, and I enjoy doing so with other gardeners and garden visitors.”
🍃 Tom’s passionate about: “Promoting a ‘no dig’ carbon capturing policy. This is achieved by mulching and using our own leaf mould compost.”
🌿 Tom’s proud of: “Over the past 25 years, it’s been a privilege to develop the 20 acre Temperate Rainforest at Tregrehan. We have nearly 300 Champion trees, plus the collection of flowering specimens in the spring including Camellias, Magnolias and Rhododendrons.
🙏 Tom’s golden rule: “The plant must be in the right soil, the right place and have an appropriate watering regime.”
🌵 Tom’s top tip: “Check the origins of the plant and where it grows naturally. You must try to replicate the same growing environment – the right plant in the right place.”
🍃 Tom’s biggest challenges: “Squirrels, gales and tree diseases.”
💚 Tom’s career in a parallel universe: “Forest/mountain guide or a beer taster.”
💚 Tom’s one wish for the future: “That the ethos and the integrity of this beautiful garden is preserved for future generations to enjoy.”
Alex Goodyear, Head Gardener at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens
💚 Introducing Alex: “It’s a true privilege to work within one of the best exotic gardens in the UK. The plant range here includes some real rarities seldom seen growing outside on the mainland and I love spending my days working amongst it all!”
🍃 Alex’s excited about: “Grasses! Learn to love them – they offer year long interest with movement and texture and are a fantastic foil for many plants. We love Mexican feathergrass (Nassella tenuissima) for its ability to self-seed and give a naturalistic Mediterranean look to the borders. Chionochloa rubra and Anemanthele lessoniana are also fantastic grasses to introduce.”
🌿 Alex’s inspired by: “The wild! Mother Nature knows best, and we should strive to simulate that where possible. Creativity comes in substituting plants that would naturally never be seen together, to develop a naturalist planting design.”
🙏 Alex’s golden rule: “Develop planting schemes with an emphasis on structural evergreen statement plants. Steer away from large areas overplanted with herbaceous perennials and annuals. They may provide a big impact and colour in spring/summer but leave your garden bare and depressing in winter when you need it most.”
🍃 Alex’s favourite feature: “Aside from the exceptional plant life, what really sets the garden apart is the first-rate collection of contemporary art works dotted throughout the garden. James Turrell’s ‘Aqua Obscura’ offers a special experience like none other.”
💪 Alex’s biggest test: “The topography of the garden can be difficult at times – that said, it is also one of our biggest assets. Yes, it can be difficult slogging uphill with loaded wheelbarrows, but the views provided are top-notch.”
🦔 Alex’s eye spy challenge: “Look out for the extraordinary Heptapleurum macrophyllum – it’s an architectural thing of wonder offering heaps of exoticism. These plants thrive in our rich, moisture-retentive soil in the relative shelter of the valley.”
💚 Alex’s career in a parallel universe: “Perhaps I’d have pursued a career in entomology. I’ve long had a love and interest for insects and bugs of all descriptions since I was a little boy scampering about the undergrowth.”
💚 Alex’s one wish for the future: “To avoid any serious damaging frosts. We have a lot of half-hardy specimens in the garden that could easily be zapped by a freak weather event. One can only hope but it’s best not to dwell.”
Andrew Lawson, Head Gardener at Tresco Abbey Gardens
💚 Introducing Andrew: Andrew first visited Tresco on a family holiday in 1976 and fell in love with it. He has now been working at Tresco Abbey Garden for 40 years and is very much an islander! He says, “showing people around the garden is my favourite part of my role as head gardener”.
🌿 Andrew’s favourite area: “I think the top terrace with its mix of protea, banksia and fynbos plants and the extraordinary views out through the towering Norfolk island pines.”
🍃 Andrew’s proud of: “I am always pushing the boundaries of what can be grown here even stretching into Queensland and New Caledonia.”
💪 Andrew’s successes: “South African plants from the cape do very well here because at the top of the garden, the soil and climate is so similar, poor soil, sunshine and wind.”
🐿 Andrew’s biggest challenge: “As we have a temperate climate our biggest problem is glass house pests living outdoors, we try and combat this biologically by introducing native predators.”
🌴 Andrew’s top gardening tip: “Stop using herbicides and insecticides, it can only do harm and should be a last resort, we now use pelargonic acid for gravel paths and this seems fairly successful.”
💚 Andrew’s career in a parallel universe: “Plant hunter would be fun!”
💚 Andrew’s wish for the future of the garden: “Not be landed on by a foot of snow!” Remember the big freeze of 1987? Andrew was instrumental in rebuilding Tresco from the soil up after this extreme weather event – so this wish is spoken from experience!
Tresco is a destination garden unlike any other – plan your visit this summer 🌿
Richard Morton, Head Gardener at Trewidden Garden
💚 Introducing Richard: “I love looking after an historic garden of local and county importance.”
🙏 Richard’s golden rules: “Add plenty of organic matter to your soil if possible, this will improve its structure and water holding ability. Also try to avoid watering beds and borders in summer, this can make plants more susceptible to drought.”
🌿 Richard’s proud of: “The Tree Fern Pit/Dell. It is an ancient open cast tin mine with a fine stand of Tree Ferns and two Champion Magnolia trees.”
💪 Richard’s biggest test: “Wind is the biggest challenge, Trewidden is situated only six miles from Land’s End ‘as the crow flies’ so without our shelterbelts of trees the garden would struggle.”
🍃 Richard’s eye-spy challenge: “An ancient Jelly Palm planted in 1890’s and tin smelting kettles which came from the Bolitho’s tin smelting works when it closed in 1911.”
💚 Richard’s career in a parallel universe: “Blacksmith or boat builder.”
💚 Richard’s one wish for the future: “That the garden will still be here in another 174 years’ time.”
Gary Long, Head of Gardens and Parks at Trewithen
💚 Introducing Gary: “I love imagining a project and then seeing the whole process through planning, clearing, replanting, to the finished article. Also, being in a position to be able to help people with a passion for horticulture to develop their career and achieve great things.”
🙏 Gary’s golden rule: “Little and often. You can’t do it all at once! Spring is a good example. The garden wakes up after winter (not always the case in Cornwall – a mild winter can mean nothing stops growing and flowering!) and mowing, weeding, pruning can all feel endless. Just do a bit each day and enjoy the moment.”
🍃 Gary’s top tool: “Felco secateurs. There simply is no better. I have only had 3 pairs since 1993 and the only reason I have had that many is I lost one pair and changed from a Felco number 2 to Felco number 8 style.”
🌿 Gary’s proud of: “We have 37 “Champion Trees” which are the tallest or have the largest girth of their type in the British Isles. We are an International Camellia society ‘Garden of Excellence’ with a large collection of wild collected and cultivated hybrids.”
💪 Gary’s biggest challenge: “Recently it’s been the weather! More accurately, storms! We have suffered the loss of mature trees, and the damage they create when windblown, over the last few years with stands of Quercus ilex (evergreen oak) Fagus sylvatica (Beech) and more recently specimens of Birch and Photinia. On the estate we have planted a series of windbreak/boundary trees on the edges of the parkland to help reduce wind into the garden.”
💚 Gary’s career in a parallel universe: “I always fancied being a paramedic, I really enjoy the training and methodology when on a course plus its helping people. OR a Lego YouTuber……(Lego is my other passion which can be an expensive hobby but my “Lego Shed” still has room for more!”
💚 Gary’s one wish for the future: “Simply for the garden to evolve and “grow” and become a lasting legacy.”
Visit Trewithen today! 🌿
