Doug Stewart is a Chartered Horticulturist who solve as a Professional Associate to the RHS and a Consultant to those looking for gardening advice .
Having completed his RHS Master of Horticulture accreditation in the early eighties , Doug has more recently authored A Gardener ’s Guide To Sustainable horticulture , which isavailable now in Paperback .
In this interview we learn more about Doug , his cause for sustainability and his human relationship with the garden in his own words .
Where Did Your Journey With Gardening Start?
“ I ’ve always like flora and been better with plants than people ! ” joke Doug .
“ I bug out as a child as a lot of multitude do with my parents . I was hold a rubbish spot in the garden undersome conifers . When I was 13 , I got my first allotment and started to uprise there .
“ At this age , I also responded to a job in the local paper where I raked leave of absence and pout the lawn at a nearby home , so that was where it all originate . ”
How Did This Introduction To Gardening Lead To A Career As A Horticulturist?
“ There normally come a head where you are left wondering what you are meant to do with your animation , ” he sound out . “ I also had a little bit of air pressure from my parents .
“ I ’ve luckily always liked horticulture and grew up skirt by nature .
“ I also convey holiday work at local nurseries in Hampshire which became the nerve pathway into discovering that there was the potential for a career in this industriousness . I ’m really pleased I took those steps . ”
Do You Have Any Particular Favourite Moments From Your Career?
“ I worked in horticultural education after operate at a variety of nursery .
“ My preferred moments were when the bookman hightail it into me afterwards and severalize me that the experience and stirring they pull ahead from college has now led to them run their own nurseries or going to blossom shows .
“ Having been lucky enough to be in the position to influence multitude and make a departure is my favourite part of my whole vocation . ”
Can You Tell Us About Your Upcoming Book, A Gardener’s Guide To Sustainable Gardening?
“ I ’m really excited because I ’ve just receive my first concentrated written matter of it ! ” Doug shares .
“ Everyone is talking about the pauperism for us to garden more sustainably but there is little info out there on what that actually means .
“ With this Good Book , I wanted to unpack this and excuse what sustainability actually is and what it signify to the garden . I ’ve propose a model in the book about how to rethink everything we do in a garden in gaze to sustainability .
“ It gets you to interrogate everything and then make better - inform decisions . It tries to introduce a whole new path of gardening , which is a pretty big intention for a little book ! ”
What Has Horticulture Taught You?
“ Everything has change . The agency we drill gardening now is entirely dissimilar to what we used to do . The principles we were go from a few geezerhood ago are so far from the single we cultivate from now .
“ It ’s taught me that the gilt rule is to re - judge everything always . Ask yourself ‘ Why am I doing this ? ’ . We do things that are so automatic because we have always done it or our parent did it .
“ Every point where we interpose in a garden should be meet with a challenge from ourselves . ”
What’s Next For You?
“ I ’m writing up my website at the moment where I ’m deal more of the ideas from the book , ” he explains .
“ I work out with the RHS as a professional companion and have help them with developing their new Level 2 and 3 Qualifications and the upcoming rollout of these is exciting .
“ Giving a interpreter to gardens and gardeners who are work sustainably is an aim of mine for the next few months . I ’m also work with a local garden centre to become the most sustainable garden heart and soul in Britain , which is a really interesting and fun project . ”
Can You Summarise Your Relationship With Horticulture In One Sentence?
“ If you had a friend who you were in complete awe of , that is how I feel about gardening and nature , ” he say just .
“ My relationship with horticulture is one of absolute wonder . ”
