After 15 year in a dissimilar profession , Kate Burtonwood enter on a calling translation , retraining in Botanical Horticulture at the University of Oxford Botanic Garden .
Her experience there and clock time drop learning under Andrea Brunsendorf at London ’s Inner Temple Garden , shaped her into a skilled Horticulturist .
Kate ’s work has taken her to prestigious locations like Lord Heseltine ’s private estate Thenford – and various gardens in Oxford and the Cotswolds .
In this audience , we delve into Kate Burtonwood ’s inspiring journey , her blog and the creation of The Cultivated Garden , and the insights she ’s gained over the years in this ever - evolve field .
Watch the full chat with Kate here on YouTube :
what sparked your passion for horticulture and how Did that lead to you becoming a gardener?
“ in the end it really was a desire to be alfresco and to have a job that was meaningful and connected in some way to nature , ” Kate begins .
“ Whilst doing horticulture in an ornamental context is n’t in reality the same as preservation work , I think you may still feel that responsibility to working ethically and sustainably within the environment to try and create something that boosts and help nature in a garden .
“ So , having put that together , it seemed like a natural step to go into a practical gardening role for me . ”
you transitioned from 15 years of working at a desk to horticulture. what was the main motivation behind that?
“ I come to realise after that quite long duration of meter that I just was n’t happy in an office , ” she explicate .
“ I did n’t care staying inwardly all day and I realise that I ’d rather be out in the rain , even if it was a bit sort of sloppy and cold , than sat at my desk . Even now my squad laugh at me for being messy out of doors . I just love not have to really manage about that form of thing anymore . ”
Can you explain a little about your role as head gardener at Trinity College?
“ It ’s a really wide-ranging part and ironically , I ’m not actually out in the garden all the time ! ” jokes Kate .
“ I do have quite a good deal of planning and admin study to do , but I think give my background in office oeuvre I can manage that , and it ’s a trade wind - off for getting the time outside .
“ I deal a squad here . I have three gardeners who work here , some of whom have been here for a long time , one of whom came to us as an prentice . Working together with them in the gardens is great .
“ Trinity College has an amazing , historic set of garden . This is a place where there are arena which have been gardened since the 13th century . What we do is provide a green infinite for those who are figure out or studying here to get away from the fast - step nature of the rest of their lives . It ’s life-sustaining , really . ”
you’ve got your own blog, ‘The cultivated Gardener’. Can you elaborate on the meaning behind that?
“ I just love communicating to mass about gardening and a blog is a really lovely way to do it because you’re able to simply put information out there and people can find out it when they want it – there ’s so much freedom that comes with it .
“ I guess I wanted to give a flavour of what I do as a professional gardener and how I got where I am , whilst also giving hardheaded advice to the great unwashed about gardening as well .
“ People really love receiving gardening pourboire . We always want information about gardens . I bed that we are a nation of gardeners and that it is such a dandy interest for so many the great unwashed live on in the UK . ”
What role do you believe a gardener plays in kind of the larger context of environmental stewardship and sustainability?
“ I intend we ’re utterly vital in that context , ” she put forward .
“ Unfortunately , I also cogitate we ’re really underrated and that ’s very sad , as we often fall back in favour of building declarer and architects who might not put the gardens at the front of a place .
“ There ’s some really awesome practitioners in gardening and landscape innovation who have so much to give in terms of the environmental prospect of what a piece of land can be , what it can provide and how we can establish sustainability into design in cities and homes .
“ I think stewardship is a really important word to use and I think it should supplant garden maintenance , which gives off the theme that what we are doing is some kind of routine thing which just involve a few tools .
“ Stewardship gives more of a sense of caring , understanding and creating a green space . I recollect nurseryman should be at the front of that . ”
what’s next for you? Do you have any upcoming projects with trinity College Gardens?
“ We have a really gravid project amount up here to reinstate our master border area , ” shares Kate .
“ We ’ve had quite a lot of building oeuvre done on the site over the last few years and there ’s been a mass of change already , but our chief border area is about 800 - 900 m² and require amending .
“ It ’s go to be quite an iconic project because of where it is and what we ’re doing with it , so look out this outer space for Trinity Gardens in 2025 ! ”
