Having spent over 30 years work in Horticulture , Nick Bailey has cultivated a fat career in Garden Design , Management , Writing and Broadcasting .
An honours graduate in Landscape Design from Greenwich University , he has managed garden globally , author advantageously - selling book and present on notable show like BBC Gardeners ’ macrocosm .
As the former Head Gardener at Chelsea Physic Garden , Nick remold and develop its ingathering , which is still one of his favourite experiences .
Nick shares his time at the Physic Gardens and other life history highlights in more detail during our interview .
Can You Tell Us About Your Journey Into Horticulture? What Inspired You To Study This Field?
“ I hypothesise it ’s the cliché really ; my parents had a passably sized garden and then they bought a big chunk of the land at the back of it , ” plowshare Nick .
“ Both sets of my grandparents had big gardens , so I was always immersed in it . It was just so intrinsic to me and it was wondrous to be in that humans .
“ All of the resources were there for me and I had a veritable discount at the local garden centre by the time I was 7 because I used to pass all of my scoop money there !
“ At the weekends , I ’d be out in the garden pretending to be a giver on Gardeners ’ World , which is adorable to think about as I am doing that for really now .
“ I did n’t eff anything different – gardening was just always part of my world . ”
What Led You To A Career In Horticulture?
“ I pop work on at the local garden centre when I was about 12 , ” he explains .
“ I left shoal with very few reservation and was n’t sure what I want to do , so I spoke to my boss and ask if he would be able-bodied to take me on . Although he could n’t afford to engage me conventionally , I started as a trainee and was on 29p an minute , which sounds horrific now !
“ However , it give me a year of employed , hands - on experience . I obtain a course in Kent that I wanted to do and it was essential that I had that experience , so I spend a twelvemonth at the glasshouse doing a plenty of the on - site production .
“ I woke up one wintertime doing the pot - up motion because I spent that long doing it ! Once the year was done , I started college and did a Diploma in Horticulture , which was where it all began . ”
You Became A Regular Presenter On BBC Gardeners’ World In March 2016. How Did You Transition Into Broadcasting?
“ I ’d been doing tv set for some time as I had solve in South Africa in the mid-90s and present on their equivalent of Gardeners ’ World over there , so I knew I enjoyed that character of work .
“ In around 2010 , I was contacted by the BBC to try out for Gardeners ’ World and I did a screen test up in Birmingham . I had one of the most embarrassing instant of my aliveness as I was start my breakfast in the hotel they had put us up in and walked straight into a glass mirror because I thought the buffet went on further than it really did !
“ I was covered in my intellectual nourishment and had to be costume up for the screen door test , which was not ideal . I did n’t get it , so I refocused on the rest of my career . I later got recommended for the project again a few days by and by and was invited back to do a screen test again and I was so nervous !
“ A calendar month pass by and I did n’t see anything so assumed the unsound , but one solar day , I got a phone call from an unknown phone number whilst I was in the eye of another project .
“ Someone asked if I was still okay to film the undermentioned week . I was so confused , but gayly take on the project and that ’s how it all start . ”
What Does A Typical Working Day In The Life Look Like For You?
“ There is no such thing as a distinctive day , as I do so many different things , ” Nick says .
“ I write for cartridge and newspaper , puzzle out for mellow net - worth guest all around the land and do a lot of public public speaking . I ’m also working on my own garden and pen a new book , so it really is fantastically wide-ranging !
“ When I ’m doing a tv set Clarence Day , I ’m perfectly knackered at the end of the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , more so than after doing any of the physical piece of work on another day . ”
You’ve Received Numerous Awards And Recognitions. Which One Holds A Special Place For You And Why?
“ Being asked by HRH Prince Charles to talk at High Grove was a very lovely thing .
“ Another real highlighting was hosting at the Savoy for the Garden Media Guild , as it felt like quite a Brobdingnagian mo because I was entertaining my yesteryear , present and future employer across the industriousness .
“ A magical second for me was at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show one year , when I was telephone to the front of the garden at a press call . There was a swarm of photographers and I finger like a proper superstar !
“ After , I walk down to the garden and began to sweep some gemstone from the path and another lensman screamed at me to get out of his shot , referring to me as the ‘ bloke with the broom ’ . That rapidly bring me back down to earth !
“ Another high point was early on on at the Physic Garden where the electric chair of trustees invited me to fare up with a plan for the gardens to last the next decade or so .
“ I thought it would be a mental process that would take calendar month to go through , but the trustee were so happy with my plan that it was signed off in the first get together I presented it . I ’ve been golden to have passel of those lovely moments . ”
What’s Next For You? Do You Have Any Upcoming Projects That You’d Like To Share With Our Readers?
“ I ’m working on a book called ‘ The Nature of Gardening ' ” Nick divulge .
“ It ’s about the genuine essence of nature and horticulture , but also about everything we can learn from nature through gardening and the landscape painting , whether that ’s through the aesthetics or circulate . ”
What’s The Biggest Lesson That Horticulture Has Taught You?
“ I would say that it takes a very particular case of person to be a nurseryman , ” he says .
“ It needs a particular outlook and being . I ’ve yet to meet an unpleasant nurseryman . nurseryman are a great clump of people who combine our craft and science , which need a particular accomplishment hardening that I ’m still trying to hone in on . ”
