This week, I joined the many parents saying goodbye to their children as they pack up their belongings and head off to university for the first time. A time of mixed emotions I guess being both one of the proudest but tinged with a touch sadness. As you can imagine it was emotional with long hugs and lots of tears but I’m hoping I didn’t embarrass my boy too much. Not going to lie, I’ve not found this the easiest of times not only losing my right-hand man for the last eighteen years, but also a fine gardener!

            I know he’ll be alright, just like we all survived, and once he gets settled in I know he’ll fully embrace the exciting new adventure in front of him.

            There’s something about the month of September that still gets me each year, as the growing season begins its final fling combined with the start of the academic year and a trigger for a thirst for learning, taking me back to my own weekly visits to Elmwood College as part of my horticultural training.

            I learnt the bones of my trade through a four-year apprenticeship, I describe it this way as thirty-four years on I’m still learning something new each day, one thing that makes gardening so unique there being so many different aspects to it. I maintain that during a full fifty-year working career in horticulture you could be trying something new every three years and still not cover it all. First you could be working in a tropical glasshouse, then be a plant propagator or have your own nursery. You could work in a botanical garden, be a gardener in a public park or experience the differences between this and working in the grounds of one of Scotland’s historic houses. Then in these gardens you might find yourself maintaining a collection of herbaceous plants or climbing trees as an arborist, and you could also specialise in a group of plant like alpines.

            I think you’re getting my drift here and could believe me when I say there has never been a day in my working life when I’ve been bored with what I was doing, leading then to the question is there any other vocation that can offer such a wide variety? I can’t think of one.

             I’ve never experienced uni myself but looking back now, I’d still say that the earn as you learn with the one day a week attending formal lessons was the right way for me.

            I’m not one for being stuck in a classroom for too long however, I do think about all those extra-curricular activities that I missed out on. And no, not just the parties and student prices at the bar! When I hear about the field trips that my boy could go on or the various groups and societies he could become a member of, I do get a little bit envious yet when I think about it, during my career I have managed to experience two botanical trips to the Swiss Alps studying the plants growing in the most magnificent scenery and a trip to Bhutan helping to set up a Botanical Garden in the capital of Thimphu.

            That’s not bad on the back of a spot of ‘grass cutting and weeding’ which I’d say is the general consensus being that’s all a career in gardening is.

            Today, in my role as head gardener of the historic gardens at Scone Palace, I’m very pleased the family encourage two horticultural learning opportunities that I get to work on, passing the knowledge and skills myself and the rest of the gardens team have gained onto the next generation of gardeners. Working with the University of the Highlands and Islands we run a two-year garden apprenticeship programme suited for a school leaver, and we also supply the practical training for those studying the distance learning version of the Higher National Certificate in Horticulture.

            I tell you what, it’s not been all one way either with the questions we are constantly being asked keeping us on our toes.

            From this, I’m a member of the Scottish Horticultural Skills Group, a professional and educational network focused on improving horticulture training, qualifications, and career pathways across Scotland. At our latest gathering the start of the month as students were beginning to return to or start their training, we learned that across the board enrolment numbers were up. Not necessarily all are there for a career in horticulture with those also there simply to learn more on the hobby they love but regardless, such a positive sign for the future and a time just when our environment around us needs us most.

            If you’ve ever been wondering about taking a gardening course at your local college but have yet to take the plunge, please get in touch with them as there are still opportunities available. Or if you need a little more persuasion then why not attend either in person or online the upcoming Grow Careers event that gets held at The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh each November.