I started working at Eastnor Castle in August 2023 and I absolutely love it. Without sounding too cheesy, this was my dream job. About 15 years ago, I wanted to work on the Eastnor Castle grounds, but I couldn’t find anything entry level, so I ended up getting a job on a golf course in an attempt to get my foot in the door. I stayed there for a while and got my qualifications and experience. Randomly, one Tuesday morning, I looked to see if anything was available and, luckily, this job had been listed. Thanks to all my experience and qualifications, I got the job.
I’ve always wanted to be a gardener. I attended art college as a teenager but have always been drawn to nature. I use my artistic creativity with precision at Eastnor, from box hedging to mowing the grass – I like things to be aesthetically pleasing.
Speaking of aesthetics, the grounds of Eastnor Castle are absolutely stunning. There are magnificent views of the countryside, the lake, the arboretum and the formal gardens. My favourite area to manage is definitely the formal lawns – I really look forward to the striping and the edging of the lawns as it gives me immediate gratification. It’s such an important job because the formal lawns surround the castle and it is key that visitors see the immediate areas around the castle are well looked after, especially during the wedding season.
The grounds also boast some quite unusual trees and plants. Down on the lower terrace there are some tetrapanax plants. It grows very tall, and the fig-like leaves are huge: around 18 inches across. The tetrapanax were chosen because they fit the large scale of that part of the garden beautifully. They are a source of fascination for guests as most people have never seen them before – they are too big for most people’s gardens.
My proudest achievement from my time working at Eastnor is the introduction of the compost area. When I first came to Eastnor I asked about the composting setup, and they didn’t have one. I was completely gobsmacked, so from day one I’ve been trying to implement it into the grounds. There is now a horse-muck project we work on that helps with enrichment and, as of last October when the leaves started to drop, we built a leaf mould station in the hope that we can use the product for mulching or even seedlings. I’m so passionate about putting the nutrients back into the soil.