My career in horticulture began in 1991 in a small factory unit in Newcastle when my model-painting workmates and I were discussing our plans for the future. All I knew was that I wanted to work outdoors and with plants. That was the easy part, the difficulty lay in finding someone prepared to employ me, filled as I was with great enthusiasm and a sketchy grasp of Latin but little else.

This is where the National Trust came in. I answered an advert for the trust’s new Careership scheme, a training opportunity that offered three years combined college and workplace training along with a small wage. They took a gamble and employed me in the formal garden at Cragside.

The next three years were packed with intensive training – the theory and specialised elements needed for the NDH and NVQ level 2 at Cannington College. Somerset, with the practical details of working in an historic garden filled in at Cragside under the direction of head gardener, Andrew Sawyer.

I completed the course in 1994 and began my present job in July 1995. My main duties are planning, planting and maintaining features of Cragside’s Victorian formal garden such as the Dahlia walk and the carpet beds. I am also responsible for managing staff, general care of the historic landscape and plant propagation with a nursery that annually produces 35,000 plants.

My training now concentrates on specialised subjects. A recent course on wildlife enhancement in historic gardens was quite inspirational. The National Trust provides regular information technology training and internal courses on management and health and safety issues. In this industry there is always something new to learn and hopefully I will be learning when I come to retire.