WRAGS reaps rewards

Two WRAGS graduates take us on their journey, from trainees to horticultural professionals, working for the National Trust Scotland

From WRAGS to National Trust Scotland (Philippa Holdsworth)

I have always loved gardening, but I made my career in IT and was running my own business until 2016 when I was drawn by an advert for an estate gardener. I needed training!

By 2018 I had RHS Level 2, a seasonal job at Cruickshank Botanic Garden and was working part time in Dobbies garden centre. In terms of the job market, it was clear I needed practical training too, which brought me to WRAGS.

In February 2020 I started at Kincardine Castle, Aberdeenshire. Things were about to change dramatically with the COVID looming. I was welcomed by Andrew and Nicky Bradford, and their gardener Bob Ovington, who each had input into my training. When lockdown hit, I was grateful to be in the lovely environment of the Castle’s walled garden so, despite the pandemic, I was able to progress through the WRAGS syllabus while the seasons rolled on oblivious to it all.

When I completed WRAGS I got the opportunity to stay on at the Castle, and I continued with that and a few smaller gardens. However, it’s only natural to keep half an eye on a job board, and when I saw a one that needed skills in both IT and horticulture it got my attention! It was to lead a team cataloguing the plants in the National Trust for Scotland’s plant collections in the north of Scotland, based at Crathes Castle and I was fortunate enough to get the job.

As manager of the North team on the PLANTS project (Plant Listing at the National Trust for Scotland) I have a team of two inventory officers, and it is our job to survey 13 gardens across Angus, Aberdeenshire, Moray and Highland over a period of three years.

We have currently completed one season of surveying (during the growing season) and are working on our first session of data processing before heading back out on survey in April.

It has been an interesting journey through WRAGS and beyond. I am very glad I followed the urge to get into gardening.

First Gardener at The Hill House (Nicola Sweeney)

Following my WRAGS placement in a private garden on the shores of Loch Ard, I set up as a self-employed Gardener with a newfound confidence. The flexibility of self-employment fitted perfectly with the needs of my young family at the time and a desire to keep learning. I continued to work at Dun Dubh, where I did my placement, gathered a few other regular clients, and did some planting design and gardening work for a local garden designer. I also enrolled in a part-time HNC in Landscape Management at SRUC Oatridge. reflected in the enjoyment and positive feedback of the visitors.

To find out more information about our WRAGS training scheme or if you have a garden that could host and train a WRAGS trainee, please visit our website at: www.wfga.org.uk

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After about five years I was keen to find more regular, predictable work and I started looking for a permanent position. In 2019 I gained employment as a Kitchen Gardener in a therapeutic garden at Camphill Blair Drummond, which is a residential community for adults with learning disabilities. This was equally an amazing and challenging place to work. I learnt so much and met some brilliant people, but when a position came up at The Hill House, a National Trust for Scotland property in Helensburgh, it was too good an opportunity to let pass by. Working for the Trust had been an aspiration since my first steps into horticulture and I was delighted to get the job as First Gardener at The Hill House, a Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed property, where I have worked since July 2021.

Working for the NTS has allowed me to hone and develop my horticultural and garden management skills, plus gain access to a network of knowledgeable and dedicated people in the field of heritage gardening. It is a huge privilege to work for an organisation focused on high horticultural standards and preserving our garden heritage for future generations. There is also satisfaction in seeing the results of all the hard work that goes into looking after a garden to this standard

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