Lessons from Clare's Gardens

Could you tell me a bit about your early career before joining the College?

I left school at 16 and went into a five-year apprenticeship with Leeds Parks Department, which was the best move I ever made. The education in practical horticulture that we received on that apprenticeship was second to none. This was in the days before compulsory competitive tendering and when a majority of councils put a great deal of energy into their parks and gardens. Leeds was no different, and was among the best six in the country for horticultural practice. That grounded me very well.

I worked in all of the major parks in Leeds and at the central nurseries that produced the plants, trees and shrubs for the city, which was marvellous. We even grew over 200 cut flower poinsettias that decorated the Town Hall at Christmas. They were grown in clay pots, and I remember walking round, tapping each one with a washer on the end of a bamboo cane – if they rang out, they needed watering, and if they made a dull sound, they didn’t. I learned so much about horticulture there.

After completing my apprenticeship, I felt I needed to move on to jobs that would allow me to have a lot more independence, which led me to a few different positions around Leeds. For a time, I worked for a large hotel and banqueting suite in Calverley, just outside Horsforth, which had a great reputation. But my major move was coming down to Cambridge to take the position of Head Gardener with the Cambridgeshire and District Health Authority, based at Brookfields Hospital.

In those days, the hospital had its own nursery and a huge range of glasshouses. One of the jobs I was responsible for was growing cut flowers for the wards and community spaces at Addenbrookes. I also helped with moving the maternity unit from Mill Road to the Rosie Hospital when it opened. We took a number of plants from the old site, and for many years there were a good amount of plants in the inner courtyard of the Rosie that were still thriving since the day we moved them from Mill Road. Maybe they’re still there. I worked not only for the major hospitals, but for all the health centres around Cambridgeshire, from Linton in the south and out to Eaton Socon and Soham, which meant we were a very mobile team.

After ten years with the Health Authority, I worked for a ten-year spell for English Heritage, at Audley End House, before coming to Clare. During that time I had my family and moved to the town of Saffron Waldon, just next to Audley End, where I lived right up until retirement.

How did the gardens change during your time at Clare? What are you most proud of?

I took over the role of Head Gardener from Brian Arbon, who had been in the job for fifty years, since the age of 15. He created fantastic displays, building on the vision that Professor E N Wilmer had for the gardens after the Second World War.

Brian was from the era of ‘make do and mend’, and was brilliant at making every penny go as far as it possibly could. But this did mean that the infrastructure to support the gardens was somewhat lacking, and needed a boost to be able to maintain and improve what was already there. The first jobs were to update the greenhouses, install a new glasshouse range, and create a new workshop and mess-room in the Fellows’ Garden. Upon my arrival, the greenhouse was an eight-by-six-foot cedar timber structure that was falling to bits – it was said that if you wanted to stay dry in the rain, you were better off outside!

There was a galvanised water tank below an outside tap, and I remember the poor gardeners having to break the ice on the tank in winter to be able to wash up for lunch. It was a great relief to be able to help implement the new staff facilities. Of course, this needed finance, and I couldn’t have done it without the help of the then Bursar, Donald Hearn.

I’m proud that we were able to rebuild the courtyards over at Memorial Court, which needed a lot of work doing to them when I arrived. The footpaths, which are now all-purpose and usable twelve months of the year, had been in a diabolical state. As soon as it rained, they flooded and were unusable – the bedders were always telling me to do something about it, because the aggregate from the paths was being constantly being tracked all over the staircases!

At the time, the planting was also very tired and needed an overhaul. So, in stages, we went from Thirkill to Ashby to the new Lerner Court, and redesigned each one specifically around the users of the College, especially the students. I wanted to make sure they felt part of the design.

In the Fellows’ Garden, the major change I implemented was the creation of the Tropical Garden, which was an idea I brought to Clare from Audley End – along with one or two banana plants which happened to find their way over to College from there…! Inputting these, along with varieties of Canna lilies, Tithonia and other species helped to replace an area of the gardens which was in need of improvement, and has succeeded very well in creating a tropical feel.

Part of my work was in helping to bridge the divide between ‘town and gown’ by opening up the Gardens to local horticultural groups. I did many, many garden tours and talks in village halls over the years, which was quite daunting at first. But I overcame my nervousness and it became very rewarding.

What was the biggest lesson you learned during your time at Clare?

I think I’d have to say “Think before you whack”! I could sometimes go into things a little too quickly, but this was always well-tempered by the Gardens Committee, who would pull the reins slightly to put me in the right direction. There are many gardens committees within the colleges. I know all the Head Gardeners around the University pretty well by now, and some of them have difficulty in taking a suspect bough from a tree because it would have to go through various committees to be approved. Thankfully, at Clare, the committee, with the leadership of Donald Hearn and Professor Howard Griffiths, supported me very well, while leaving many of the decisions to my own making.

In the first few months though, the biggest lesson was learning where all my meetings were held. There was many a time when I showed up late to a meeting because I couldn’t find the room!

What’s your favourite Clare memory?

In 2015, Monty Don came up to Clare with the Gardener’s World team to film a piece on the gardens at Clare. That was brilliant.

Over lunch, we sat down together in the Buttery for some student fodder and had a great chat. That memory will stay with me for a while.

I was also presented to HRH the Duke of Edinburgh for the opening of Lerner Court, with the other heads of department who were involved in the project. We were lined up in the Elton-Bowring Room, and after I shook his hand and was introduced as the Head Gardener he quipped “And they’ve let you in here, with your dirty boots?” which was very typical of his humour!

What’s next?

I’ve recently moved to a cottage up in the Yorkshire Dales, an area very dear to my heart, which will be keeping me busy. The garden is
a nicely-sized plot in need of some TLC, in the middle of Coverdale, bordered by a farmer’s field with the River Cover at the bottom of it and a public house at the top! I’d like to put some herbaceous planting in, but lots of brash, bright colour might look a little wrong in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales, so I think the garden will end up looking more natural within the landscape – not too manicured.

I don’t want to be in my garden 24/7 though, because there’s so much to explore in the Dales and the surrounding area. Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden was one of my favourite spots when I was a young lad. It’s a National Trust property and it is just magnificent – I fully expect to be there at least once a month, rain or shine. And of course there’s Harlow Carr in Harrogate, which I’ll also be visiting a lot. I’m looking for opportunities to volunteer, perhaps at Bolton Castle, which is virtually on my doorstep.

I’m thinking of taking up fishing, which I haven’t done since I was a teenager. I’ll do plenty of walking, and I’ll be getting out to the Lake District often, which is an hour and a half’s drive away. So I’m sure I’ll fill my time quite well!