The Professional Gardeners’ Guild Three Years Traineeship in Horticultural Practices

INTERIM REPORT on the National Botanic Gardens of Wales

by Giulio Veronese

Period of traineeship

2011 – 2014

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© Giulio Veronese

Printed: September 2013, Highgrove.

All photographs and pictures used in this report are by Giulio Veronese.

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The National Botanic Garden of Wales

exists to develop a viable world-class national botanic garden dedicated to the research and conservation of biodiversity and its sustainable utilisation,

to lifelong learning, and to the enjoyment of the visitor.

Mission statement of The National Botanic Gardens of Wales

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Contents Report Personal Story and Reasons 9 The Nature of the Site 9 Garden Management 10 NGBW Projects 2012/13 11 New Horticultural Skills 13 Special People 14 PGG Activities and Private Diversions 15 Appendices Photographs 17 Twelve Months at the NBGW 25 The NBGW Horticultural Department 2012/13 27 Map of the NBGW 29 Acknowledgments 31

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Personal Story and Reasons First week of March 2012 John Humphris came to the Isle of Wight finding me at Osborne House. We had a stroll within the pleasure gardens while discussing my present first year with the PGG. I was asked to identify some of the plants throughout the walk. Spotted laurels, Japanese pittosporums and aralias were easy to identify. I also recognized a specimen of Euonymus alatus and John seemed to be pleased with that. However, I confused a Ribes speciosum with fuchsia and Phlomis fruticosa with a not-well-defined salvia. On the way back to the messroom John suggested a possible placement for my second year. It was Ashridge Estate. This is a large country estate in Hertfordshire and owned by the National Trust. The park and mature woodlands extend for 5.000 acres and had input from several well-known landscape architects including Capability Brown. Furthermore, I could have lived on site and lunches were provided. Ashridge Estate certainly was a very fascinating garden as well as a convenient work placement. However, I had other ideas in mind. I have been trained and worked as an architect in Italy. During those years, I developed a strong interest in garden history, deeply investigating its periods, styles and architects. Furthermore, when I changed my career and came to the UK to do horticulture, I only worked in historic gardens. I looked after the Italianate parterre at Cliveden, admired the genius of Charles Bridgman, William Kent and Capability Brown at Stowe Landscape Garden, learnt about the Victorians and their style of planting at Osborne House. Now I needed to broaden my horizons. I did feel the urge to step into the contemporary horticulture, dealing with more modern varieties and bigger collections of plants. I also desired to see other parts of the United Kingdom, having experienced only the south-east since then. I expressed my desire to work in a British botanic garden. Three months later I was on a ferry to the mainland for attending my job interview at the National Botanic Gardens of Wales. The Nature of the Site The National Botanic Garden of Wales is situated near Llanarthney, in the southern county of Carmarthenshire. It is set on historic parkland, dating back around 400 years. The Middleton family built a mansion here in the early 1600s with the wealth amassed working for the East India Company. The historical association with the development of world trade and exploitation of plants by the Middleton family has certainly a resonance that goes deep to the core of botanic garden development. In 1789 William Paxton bought the estate to create a lavish Regency Landscape of lakes and rolling parkland planted with specimen trees, ornamental woodlands walks and flower displays. The water features played a key-role via systems of interconnecting lakes, ponds and streams linked by a network of dams, sluices, bridges and cascades. Paxton used his great wealth to employ some of the finest creative minds of his day, including the eminent architect Samuel Pepys Cockerell, who he commissioned to design and build a new Middleton Hall, described as “one of the most splendid mansions in South Wales”.

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Middleton Estate fell into decline in the early 20th century. The house burnt down in 1931. After this the estate fell into decline and was bought by Carmarthenshire County Council in the Seventies, divided in seven farms and leased to young farmers hoping to make their way into an agricultural career. The idea of a Welsh botanic garden originated in the Eighties. Under the guidance of the Welsh Historic Garden Trust, an application was made to the Millennium Commission to fund Britain’s first botanical garden for 200 years. The Garden was opened to the public for the first time on 24 May 2000, and was officially opened on 21 July by HRH the Prince of Wales. In 2003, the garden ran into serious financial difficulties, and in 2004 it accepted a financial package from the Welsh Assembly Government, Carmarthenshire County Council and the Millennium Commission to secure its future. Today the National Botanic Garden of Wales works both as horticultural attraction and a centre for botanical research and conservation, concentrating at first on the Welsh flora. The NBGW is open to the public every day of the year, apart for Christmas Day. The site extends to 568 acres, with about 100 acres dedicated to ornamental gardens. The Great Glasshouse is the centerpiece. This is the world’s largest single-span glasshouse, covering an area just under an acre big. It houses plants from the six world’s Mediterranean climate regions (i.e. Chile, Western Australia, South Africa, California, Canary Islands and the Mediterranean itself). Garden Management The horticultural department consists of fourteen full-time horticulturalists. External contractors are employed seasonally and occasionally for hard landscaping, lawn cutting and tree work. About a dozen of volunteers help with basic gardening jobs. Two trainees are taken yearly. Unlike other places I used to work, the panel here is not rigid, as the staff are liable to increase or decrease according with the financial possibilities. An inside and an outside teams have been established in order to spread the work load taking pressure off individuals, and make for more efficient working. The trainees are rotated, on a three monthly basis, between both the teams over the year. I worked outdoors from September to November and from March to May; indoors, from December to February and from June to August. The outside team is in charge primarily for the Double Walled Garden and the Broad Walk. To keep good horticultural standards in these areas is the priority. The Japanese Garden, the Bog Garden, the Sculpture Garden and the Woodlands are also under the care of the outdoor team. The inside team is in turn divided into two compartments, one being in charge of the glasshouses, one for the nurseries. While the former carries out classic display and maintenance jobs, the latter works “behind the scenes” and is primarily responsible for the under-glass conservation and improvement of the horticultural collections. The Great Glasshouse, the Tropical House, the three nursery glasshouses and one polytunnel are under the responsibility of the inside team. Several other outdoor areas, such as the Boulder Garden, the Wallace Garden and the newly established Welsh Native Compound, are also managed by the inside team.

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The NBGW do provide training opportunities , conferences and trips to other gardens for the horticultural team, but unfortunately this seems to occur episodically. During the year 2012-2013, I wasn’t involved in any official training. Nevertheless, the NBGW is a garden dedicated to education and the number of plant-related talks, shows, festivals is never-ending. It’s entirely up to the employee or trainee to get involved. I noticed the lack of a seasonal work plan. In other gardens I used to work a list of jobs to be completed covering either a weekly or a monthly period was produced and given to all the gardeners. This helps keeping track of what there is to do, preventing jobs getting forgotten and avoiding wasted time or confusion when the head or deputy head is unavailable for some reason. The absence of a regular personal development review was also detectable. In my opinion this was reflected directly in the moral of the staff because little chance was given to air any problems and to be updated on individual performances. Personal development reviews are also good for career development and give room for promotion. I found the level of health and safety procedures and training often inadequate. No regular checking was carried in the mornings and some documentation, such as pesticide application and risk assessment record, wasn’t kept up to date. No official induction with the machinery was given to the new employees and trainees. The responsibility was left entirely to the individual’s common sense. This ended up with always the same people using the machinery, with little swapping of jobs and sharing of skills and knowledge. No official uniform was provided. I do think that the provision of official uniforms really can make a difference in any work environment. It helps the individual to feel part of the team. It pays off with loyalty from staff members, increasing enthusiasm and productivity. High-quality workwear also gives a more professional look to the gardeners, leaving impressed visitors. In light of what shown up to this point, a consideration must be made. The NBGW is a registered charity reliant almost entirely upon the Welsh government funding. Other small income is received from visitors, friends, grants and gifts. This situation doesn’t allow the management of big money, so the financial opportunities are drastically restricted, even if considering only the costs of maintaining. NBGW Projects 2012/13 The NGBW is a relatively young garden aiming to be at the forefront of horticulture in Wales. In these 12th years, countless ideas have been develop to enhance the garden story. Following a list of the major horticultural and botanical projects launched during my period of traineeship (in order of occurrence). The Ghost Forest is in a permanent environmental art installation, set nearby the Great Glasshouse. It consists in ten giant hardwood tree stumps which aim to highlight the alarming rate of deforestation. When I came to the NGBW, the Ghost Forest was just installed. I carried out the mulching around stumps by using a coarse woodchip. The Woods of the World project is a suggestion for the development of an arboretum collection. It aims to establish trees from moderate and continental climate regions in a 10 acre area. The linked Welsh woodland will provide the nurse crop in which the exotic woods can be sheltered and therefore establish. First two weeks of March I was constantly involved in the planting stage.

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A Heritage Orchard was developed in the Outer Walled Garden. Every extant variety of Welsh origin apple have been managed to gather together. This includes some very rare varieties that have only recently been rediscovered. I have been involved in the planting stage and joined two grafting sessions in the polytunnel. In March the NBGW installed a new Software Manager, moving from BG-BASE to IrisBG. This is a database and software solution to manage vast horticultural collections and is of great value to the research, conservation and education purposes. Only the senior horticulturalists have been trained at the use of IrisBG. The debut at Chelsea Flower Show (and the consequent victory with a Silver medal) was an exciting moment. Two external garden designers created and artisan garden which was intended to illustrate how a garden and its plants can improve human life through different forms of medicine. The horticultural team has not been involved. Growing the Future is a pilot project launched in summer, the goal being to design and deliver horticultural opportunities for the Welsh local community. Nearly three acres have been developed into growing spaces for classes to take place, in accordance with the contemporary theories of organic and forest gardening. I joined the GtF classes on several occasions, learning about permaculture techniques such as “lasagna” mulching and hugelkultur raised beds. The Welsh Native Compound is an on-going project aiming to show four natural areas of Wales, displaying the different floras in four raised beds. Another important section is the protocol beds, where the plants are propagated and cultivated. The all indoor team have been consistently involved in the first hard landscaping and hedging tasks as well as in the horticultural display of the first raised bed established. I have been in charge for the design of the official didactic panel of the area illustrating the plan and the concept behind. Other research and conservation projects include the Rare Welsh Plants Project (working on some of Wales’ most threatened plants) and the ground-breaking DNA bar-coding of the Welsh flora. They are under the responsibility of the research department and the horticultural team is involved only exceptionally. With respect to what has been brought to light thus far, I would like to put forward a personal consideration, which implicates both horticultural and managerial matters. It is important to continually develop and improve gardens but it is equally if not more important to maintain existing areas to a consistently high standard. Grand new projects certainly increase the garden’s popularity and act as magnets for visitors. But is vital that some of the money raised for the initial construction of new areas is kept for ongoing maintenance and the staff is consequently increased for tackling the increasing amount of maintenance. It is frustrating for the garden team to see the administration rolling out grand new projects and not be willing to invest in new machinery (and repair the existing) or to employee new gardeners. The recent story of the NBGW should serve as a warning.

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New Horticultural Skills The NBGW is a very different garden from Osborne House, my first PGG placement. On the Isle of Wight ornamental bedding and amenity lawn cutting were the major tasks. In Wales bedding was confined in containers and small beds nearby the building and lawn cutting committed to seasonal contractors. Over the year I have used the trowel once and never handled edging shears, lawn edges, turf floats and only very rarely pedestrian or ride-on mowers. I also never used leaf collectors and blowers. At the NBGW the horticultural collection is far bigger than at Osborne House. Over the year my real goal has been to understand how to maintain, improve and record plant collections, both indoor and outdoor. Over the year I gradually became more and more aware of the day-to-day running of the several glasshouses, nurseries and polytunnels. This involves a lot of skills because of the diversity of plants has different requirements for watering, potting on, growing media, etc. In these matters, the study for gaining the RHS certificates had been of great help. Accurate record of the plant collection is a vital priority in a botanic garden. At the NBGW all the specimens had an eight digit accession number and there are different systems of labeling. Paperwork could be a time-consuming affair but is not derogable or postponable. To me, it became a way to stick in my head new plant names. I carried out regularly integrate pests and diseases management, involving: overall hygiene and period monitoring of pests and diseases, introduction of biological control agents (April/May), use of sustainable plant invigorators (SBPI, Savona) instead of strong organo-phosphates. I really enjoyed experimenting different propagating practices and techniques. I do think propagation is the litmus test that distinguishes a home gardener from a real plantsman. It involves not only horticultural knowledge, but also innate sensitivity. At the NBGW I tackled the propagation of plants from moderate climate regions, some of them having very specific requirements. In the instance, I worked with Western Australian plants (mostly from the Protaceae family), propagating both from seed and cutting. I often used smoke discs to mimic the natural occurrence in the native fire ecology areas. Dependant on species, I also applied other germination treatments, such as hot water treatment, scarification, low soil temperatures or use of hot dark boxes. I also propagated Western Australians from cutting. This is again very challenging as with some species you need to take 100 cuttings to get 10 to strike. Perseverance is the key. The care of the outdoor plant collection was subjected to other needs. A vast group of plants had to be moved indoor during winter and this clashed with the room available in the nurseries and polytunnel. It is vital in a botanic garden to estimate in advance the room and the time available for storing plants overwinter. When is not practical to move tender plants, it is essential to know overwintering techniques and material. In November I spent four days wrapping five banana trees in the Walled Garden. I built up wigwam supports around the trees, stretched chicken wire around the canes to make frames, packed them with hay and wrapped the structure.

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Special People My year in Wales has been inspired by the influence of some very special people who really motivate my personal development and left me some indelible memories. Robert and Rannveig Wallis were the tour guides during the Alpine Garden Society and the Merlin Trust expedition to Turkey I took part the year before. I met them again in Wales (they live two miles from the NBGW) and soon became a frequent visitor to their garden and nurseries, which display one of the world’s biggest Fritillaria collection. We spent many evenings looking at pictures and discussing with other horticulturally-interested visitors. With no doubt they have nurtured my interest in alpines, allowing me to participate in lectures of the South Wales AGS Local Group and the West Wales Country Gardeners. Early flowering bulbs, Welsh native orchids, Western Cape and New Zealand flora have been among the themes touched over the year. In February I also had the opportunity to attend as a steward during an AGS show and work side by side with Jim Archimbald’s widow (who later kindly gave me some books from his collection!). It was during an AGS lecture that I was introduced to Nick Wray, curator at the University of Bristol Botanic Gardens, who came to Wales to give us two talks, “Making the Most of Your Garden’s Microclimates” and “The Evolutions of Flowering Plants”. Nick became an inspirational figure for me over the year. He invited me to join him and his group for his fortnightly trip to Sicily . Between the end of April and the begin of May (right in time for the citrus blossom) we traveled from the capital Palermo to the port city of Catania, exploring the coasts and the inlands from west to east. We experienced Sicilian cities, gardens and parks, as well as botanised countryside and vegetation zones. For me, to take part in a botanical expedition to Italy guided by a British curator of horticulture has been an invaluable experience. My knowledge of the Mediterranean flora and its horticultural opportunities has developed consistently. Nick also invited me to the University of Bristol Botanic Garden for working week in July as a secondment from my PGG placement. The UBBG is a fine garden, mirroring its curator’s natural inclination for education on horticulure. I completed a wide range of horticultural tasks there as well as took part of educational visit and tours within the garden. For the first time in my career I worked in a tropical pool, dressing my waders up and pruning the outstanding Victoria amazonica and V. cruziana, removing blanket weed and careful pruning of Nelumbo nucifera hybrids. I also worked on the floating Ballast Seed Garden over two days, maintaining and watering the floating display. This is an on-going investigation of the route of the seeds carried in ballasts from overseas ports and their contribution to the development of the European landscape. Last but not least I would like to mention here William Tudor Davies, arboriculturalist at the NBGW. Tudor has been a driving force for me over the year, looking after on his own accord all the inductions to the machinery and the correct and safe use of them. Thanks to his gradual and methodical way of teaching, I have taken and passed my chainsaw qualifications (NPTC CS30/31, maintenance, cross cutting, felling and processing trees up to 380mm), as well as enormously developed my confidence with tractor and trailer driving. In August he also introduced me to some basic tree climbing practices, sharing with me his knowledge in diverse arboricultural matters, such as fungi biology, types of knots and pruning techniques.

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PGG Activities and Private Diversions I joined the PGG traineeship mid-October 2011, therefore I missed my first seminar and remained a bit isolated at Osborne House. During the successive PGG and HGBG annual seminar I finally became aware of what the PGG traineeship actually is and does. In four days I gathered inspirations for the rest of the year. I met for the first time my colleagues and shared impressions on plants, gardens and career opportunities. We also visited Parham House and Gardens and Arundle Castle and Gardens, both in West Sussex. I was particularly impressed by the very clever planting at Arundle as well as the technique of pollarding Paulownia imperialis. If the seminar represented the most decisive moment of the year, the PGG trainee study tour at Sintra was probably the most formative experience. Together with other five PGG trainees, I flew to Lisbon in March, joining for a week the gardener’s team of Monserrate Park and Palace. We have been involved in the re-landscaping of the tree fern valley, a large-scale project involving the terracing of a steep area from scratch, the planting of Ophiopogon japonicus along the edges, tender groundcovers on the banks and major plants within the terraces (Dicksonia and Cyanthea spp. and understory plants) and the restoration of the original Moorish irrigation system. During the week we also visited other place of horticultural interest such as Pena National Palace, Quinta de Regaleira, Queluz National Palace and the University of Lisbon Botanical Garden. As mentioned before in this report, my evening revisions for gaining the RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Horticulture have been a way of assessing my horticultural knowledge as well as a great fun. I had training as an architect and, since I started working as a gardener, I always felt a void in my theoretical basis. The gaining of the RHS certificates is for me a way for supporting my career developing, appreciating my everyday job in the garden and improving my horticultural English. I passed three units out of four (plant classification, structure and function; production of outdoor vegetables and fruits; protected environment and their use in plant cultivation). Following a list of the garden and other places of horticultural interest I visited over the year. In September I went to Aberglasney House and Gardens. This is one of the finest gardens in Wales, with the most-photographed Cloister Garden in the heart of the composition. I personally enjoyed the clever planting in the woodland garden and Bishop Rudd’s Walk where, among the others, Actaea simplex “Pink Spire”, A. simplex “White Pearl” and Oxydendron arboretum were performing beautifully. There are also some rather unique features such as the impressing yew tunnel and the Ninfarium, built within the ruins of the mansion and filled with a collection of warm temperate and sub-tropical plants including orchids, palms, magnolias and cycads. In late November I visited the naturalistic and romantic Colby Woodland Gardens, National Trust property. Because of the time of the year, I missed the wild flower meadow and the rhododendron bloom, Colby’s real specialties. I soaked myself in the tranquil, unusually informal walled garden and admired a champion Cryptomeria japonica (Japanese Redwood).

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In March I went to Picton Castle and Gardens. Picton comprises 40 acres of some of the most beautiful woodland gardens in West Wales as well as a remarkable walled garden, fernery and yew maze. Because of the rigid season, everything was quite late and lethargic. A few clumps of Scilla were the only things in flower that day. Once again I missed the camellia and rhododendron blossom and the acclaimed specimens of Myrtus, Embrothium and Eucryphia were just anonymous shrubs. Few weeks later I flew to Amsterdam for a long week-end. Het Loo Palace was the obvious visit, considering that the doors of Keukenhof, the world-famous tulip garden, were still closed. The gardens at Het Loo set within the general Baroque formula established by André Le Nôtre: perfect symmetry, axial layout with radiating gravel walks, parterres with fountains, basins and states. Horticulturally, that means miles and miles of hedge trimming. But that afternoon of carefree holidays, I passed over this “detail” and enjoyed the grandeur of Het Loo, appreciating why it’s often advertised as the “Versailles of Holland”. First week of April was the PGG Southern Area visit to Wakehurst Place Garden and the Kew’s Millenium Seed Bank. First we visited the seed bank, making the most of a special presentation and a behind-the-scenes tour. We were shown the public exhibition area, the three glass sections housing laboratories and the seed-preparation facilities. Seeds from all the UK’s native plant species are now stored, providing “an insurance policy” against the extinction of plants. Next target is to conserve 25% of the world’s plant species by 2020. In the afternoon we enjoyed the visit of the gardens of Wakehurst. The ornamental area around the house is in the Arts and Crafts style and the woodland garden is in the picturesque/gardenesque style. I was impressed by the quality of the gardens and the vastness of the national collections of Skimmia, Hypericum, Betula and Nothofagus. Few weeks later I went to Highgrove, Gloucestershire, for attending the job interview for my third year of traineeship. I was given a quick tour of the garden by Ed Bollom, former PGG trainee now employed in post as Senior of Production Team. Highgrove was my preferred placement for the end of my voyagement with the PGG. Once again, I wanted to experience a different working and learning experience. This is a private, contemporary garden, today’s leader of the organic and sustainable practices of gardening. The capability of the head gardener Debs Goodenough was well-known to me since my days at Osborne House. These are the reasons why I considered Highgrove a fundamental limestone of my Grand Tour to the Great Britain. In May I took advantage of a week-end in London for visiting Potters Fields Park, landscape project by Gross.Max. Studio and planting by Piet Oudolf. For me, it was a sort of pilgrimage to the contemporary international landscape design. Potters Fields is an intimate neighborhood park, gradually opening up towards the Thames with a series of stepped terraces. The planting is a summa of the New Perennial Movement, with bold drifts of easy-care, architectural herbaceous perennials and grasses, such as Echinacea purpurea, Eryngium and Miscanthus spp. In July it was Bodnant Garden turn to enter in my list. Together with Powis Castle, this is perhaps the most celebrated Welsh historic garden. It wasn’t the best time of the year for admiring the famous Laburnum Arch, but I recorded some interesting new entries such as Hydrangea aspera “Macrophylla”, Euphorbia cornigera and Rhododendron williamsianum. But my abiding memory is on Lysichiton americanus, a robust herbaceous perennial which performed effectively in large clumps of damp shade.

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Hedge trimming (left hornbeams in the Walled Garden; right: boxes in the Sculpture Garden)

Heritage Orchard planting (Outer Walled Garden)

Overwintering banana trees (Inner Walled Garden)

Landscaping a sweet pea border (Wallace Garden)

Border maintenance and mulching (Broad Walk)

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Re-landscaping project of the ex-laurel forest (now included in Canary Islands Area) in the Great Glasshouse

Care of the Tropical House plant collection

Propagating practices and techniques

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Hard-landscaping and establishing of the Welsh Natives Compound

Drawing and photo-editing of the official didactic panel for the Welsh Natives Compound

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PGG trainee study tour and work experience at Sintra, Portugal

The Gardens and Landscapes of Sicily (from the left: Giulio Veronese, Nick Wray, Sergio Cumitini)

Secondment at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden (left: Ballast Seed Garden; right: Tropical Pool)

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Bob and Rannveig Wallis in their garden

Wallis’ alpine nurseries

Alpine Garden Society (South Wales) talks and shows

RHS Level 2 Certificate in Principles of Horticulture

Chainsaw qualifications (NPTC CS30-31)

Tree climbing (in the box: William Tudor Davies)

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Aberglasney House and Gardens (South Wales)

Colby Woodland Garden (South Wales)

Het Loo Gardens (Netherlands)

Picton Castle and Gardens (South Wales)

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Wakehurst Place and Kew’s Millenim Seed Bank (Sussex)

Potters Fields Park (London)

Bodnant Manor (North Wales)

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Twelve Months at the NBGW Seasonal Jobs Personal Projects Sep

sunny dry

Outdoor Hedging (Walled Garden) Digging out, potting up (Walled Garden) Woodchip mulching (Ghost Forest) Border maintenance (Apothecaries)

Visit at Aberglasney House and Gardens (South Wales) First visit at Wallis’ nursery and garden

Oct

clear dry

Outdoor Digging out half-hardies (Walled Garden) Border maintenance (Broad Walk, CarPark) Strimming (Bog Garden) Box trimming (Sculpture Garden)

PGG Seminar (West Sussex) AGS talk “Early Bulbs” (Robert Wallis)

Nov

cloudy wet

Outdoor Banana wrapping (Walled Garden) Border maintenance (Broad Walk) Strimming (Lakes and Wood of Spring) Replanting Cornales and Lamiales Beds (Walled Garden)

AGS talk “Makin the Most of Your Garden’s Microclimates” (Nick Wray) WWCG talk “Evolution of Flowering Plants” (Nick Wray) Visit at Colby Woodland Garden (South Wales)

Dec

cloudy wet

Indoor Re-landscaping ex laurel forest and borders in Chile area (Great Glass House) Propagating annuals (NG3)

AGS talk “Native Welsh Orchids” WWCG talk “Exotic rambling from down under” (Keith Treadaway)

Jan

cloudy wet

some snow

Indoor Daily basis, watering, potting-up, propagation (Nurseries) Landscaping (Welsh Natives Compound) Re-landscaping borders in Mediterranean area (Great Glasshouse)

Second visit at Wallis nursery and garden

Feb

cloud dry

Indoor Daily basis, watering, potting-up, propagation (Nurseries) Re-landscaping a border in Chile Area (Great Glasshouse) Planting winter border (Wallace Garden)

RHS Level 2 exams (4 units) Growing the Future (Forest Gardening) AGS talk “The Western Cape” (Kath Baker) AGS South Wales Show (Caerleon)

Mar

cloud dry

late frosts

Outdoor Mowing and tree planting in New Zealand and Tasmania (Woods of the World) Tree cutting, woodchipping (Aqualab area) Mulching (Broad Walk)

PGG Workshop at Sintra (Portugal) AGS talk “South African Bulbs” (Bill Squire) Visit at Het Loo Gardens (Netherlands) Third visit at Wallis’ nursery and garden Visit Picton Castle and Gardens (South Wales)

Apr

sunny dry

Outdoor Mulching (Broad Walk, Walled Garden) Planting (by Broad Walk and Lake)

PGG Visit at Wakehurst Place and Kew’s Millenium Seed Bank (Surrey) Visit and job interview at Highgrove (Gloucestershire) RHS Flower Show (Cardiff)

May

sunny wet

Outdoor Mulching (Broad Walk, Walled Garden) Planting out (Broad Walk, Walled Garden)

Gardens and Landscape of Sicily Potters Fields Park (London)

Jun

sunny dry

Indoor Planting of pictorial meadow and sweet peas bed (Wallace Garden) Re-landscaping, planting (Boulder Garden)

Chainsaw qualification (CS30) RHS Level 2 exams (2 units) Visit Bodnant Manor (North Wales)

Jul

cloud drizzly

Indoor Re-landscaping, planting (Boulder Garden) Daily basis, watering, potting-up, propagating (Nurseries)

Secondment at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden Panel for the Welsh Native Compound Article of Sicily for the PGG magazine Award for the best Merlin travel report

Aug

clear dry

Indoor Daily basis, watering, potting-up, propagating (Nurseries) Potting on the South African Bulb Collection (NG3)

Chainsaw qualification (CS31) Tree climbing training Fourth visit at Wallis’ nursery and garden

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The NBGW Horticultural Department

OUTSIDE TEAM

Daryll Little

Senior Horticulturalist

(Broad Walk)

Fay Smith

Horticulturalist

Martin Knowles

Senior Horticulturalist

(Walled Garden)

Mark Williams

Horticulturalist

James "Blue"

Barnes-Thomas

Vegetables Grower

William Tudor Davies

Arboriculturalist

Paul Steven Day

(Second Year's)

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Horticultural Department 2012/13

Simon Goodenough

Curator of Horticulture

Angela Singleton

Horticulture Supervisor

William Tudor Davies

Arboriculturalist

INSIDE TEAM

Ann Maloney

Senior Horticulturalist

(Nursery Glasshouses)

Ayshea Cuniffe-Thomas

Propagator

Carl Holmes

Propagator

James Beavis

Propagator

PGG TRAINEES

Paul Steven Day

(Second Year's)

Giulio Veronese

(Second Year's)

Dawn Moore

Records Administrator

Horticulturalists

quiting in 2012/13

Jenny Beavis

Sally Hedger

Sandy Smith

INSIDE TEAM

Marilla Burgess

Senior Horticulturalist

(Great Glasshose)

James Kettle

Horticulturalist

quiting in 2012/13 Seasonal Grass Cutters

Sean Thomas

Adrian Jones

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Map of the National Botanic Gardens of Wales

NBGW official visitors’ map (digitally modified by Giulio Veronese)

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Acknowledgments My year working at the National Botanic Garden of Wales and the consequent preparation of this report has depended heavily on the help and support of a great people and organizations. My debts to the PGG Traineeship and the RHS Bursaries are obvious and unrepayable. I would like to thank the entire staff of Monserrate Park and Palace and University of Bristol Botanic Garden for offering the valuable opportunity of a working week as well as for the welcoming care and appreciation I received during my stay. I have also to express my deep gratitude to the Merlin Trust committee for publishing my travel report on the expedition to the Taurus Mountains and for awarding it with the renowned Christopher Brickell Prize.

Thanks also go to… John, for that handshake. Simon, for mutually supporting against the adverse climate. Angela, for turning a blind eye on the gator key. Ann, for tolerating everybody and everything but mealybugs. Asheya, for Six Nations Italy v Wales (consequences included). Blue, for daily facing Mamma Coniglio within the Walled Garden. Carl, for some good piece of raised bed dance. Daryll, for a thought-provoking mention of the Sweden girls’ football team. Dawn, for appreciating the legendary Toblerone. Fay, for loyally supporting at the Tea Bag Challenge. James K, for hunting high and low for mamma in the Great Glasshouse. Jenny, for una-bella-porzione-abbondante way of living. Mark, for guessing right all the natives. Marilla, for guessing right all the Australians. Martin, for an ultimate “bloody good pruner”. Tim, for a couple of dozen of Welsh cakes. Tudor, for some of the best working days of my life. David, for sincerely enjoying La Capricciosa. Mary, for the bat count experience. Bob & Rannveig, for promoting my passion for the Gagea genus. Nick (Bristol), for the cannoli challenge (and the cannoli fridge magnet, of course). Nick (Wales), for one of the most interesting hangover ever. Raffaele, for being sympathetic the day after. Judith, for going bananas. Edward, for understanding when she’s ready. Paul, for sharing the effort in the making of The Collection. Giuseppe & Jennifer, for contributing significantly to that. Sheila, for serving the best espresso in Wales. Susanna, for a couple of days out to Tesco’s. Andrea, for providing good quality leaf loose teas. Ruggero, for sympathize with my Southern Comfort period. Abramo, for saving me in Amsterdam. Twice. China, still for that Homeric patience.

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