What skills does a truly great horticulturalist need to have?
The key point of the job is observation. You’ve either got it, or you haven’t. When you walk through the glasshouse, if you immediately notice that something’s not quite right with a plant, then you can do something about it quickly. You have to know the plants really well – where they come from and what they look like in their natural habitat. You need to be fit, too, because it’s a very physical job – there’s lots of digging and climbing ladders, too. What advice would you give to someone with their eye on your job? If you haven’t got a flair for plants, it’s a difficult industry to get into – you need to be really enthusiastic and passionate. It’s worth having some kind of practical experience at a nursery, garden centre or botanic gardens, as well as a qualification. It’s not going to be glamorous – it’s hard, physical work. You also have to learn people skills, since we spend a lot of time training new horticulturalists and dealing with the public. You have to be calm and customer
