Date – 16 November 2022
Time – 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
This Year’s Grow Careers Scotland event will be a hybrid event with an in-person meet returning to the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh for the first time in 2 years due to Covid. We also hope that the event can also be live screened this year to allow for a wider audience who may not be able to travel.
David Knott
David is currently Curator of Living Collections at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh [RBGE]. Previously he was Curator of Dawyck Botanic Garden, near Peebles, and Garden Supervisor at Logan Botanic Garden. He was also Head Gardener at Castle Kennedy Gardens, Assistant Head Gardener with the National Trust for Scotland’s [NTS] Brodick Castle Garden, Isle of Arran and has also spent a year at Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania. David studied at Threave Gardens [NTS], and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and started his career at Branklyn Garden [NTS], Perth.
David is involved in RBGE’s contribution to the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) Target 8 project work in Scotland and has undertaken fieldwork in China, Japan, Korea, and Nepal. He is currently a member of the; Scottish Plant Health Centre, Scottish Invasive Non-Native working group, Royal Horticultural Society [RHS] Bursaries Committee, the RHS Woody Plant Committee, the UK Plant Collections Working Group, the Forestry Commission’s Westonbirt and Bedgebury Advisory Committee, Drummond and Grimesthorpe Council, Borde Hill Garden Trust, Howick Hall Garden Trust and the Merlin Trust. He is also Honorary President of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society.
Kirsty Wilson
Kirsty Wilson is the Herbaceous supervisor at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh managing a team of staff, students and volunteers. She is responsible for the herbaceous collection including the Chinese Hillside, the famous 165m long Herbaceous Border, the Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden, the Demonstration Garden, the Rain Garden, and the Biodiversity Garden.
Kirsty is also a TV presenter on BBC Beechgrove and appears on BBC Radio 4 Gardener’s Question Time as a panellist. Further to this she is an award-winning garden designer, photographer, a member of the RHS Herbaceous Committee, and active on social media.
Kirsty has a degree in Horticulture and Plantsmanship, a diploma in Garden Design, and has also previously worked for King Charles III at Highgrove, Longwood Gardens in the USA, and St Andrews Botanic Garden.
Kirsty wants to inspire people to grow plants, connect with nature and have a positive impact on the world.
Ewan Crighton
Ewan came into Horticulture as a career changer following various jobs in Retail, Sports Coaching and later studying Civil Engineering. He gained basic experience in largely Landscaping and then a brief spell Garden Volunteering at National Trust for Scotland (NTS) Branklyn Gardens in Perth before realising that his future was definitely in Horticulture. Ewan joined SRUC Oatridge College to study an NC in Horticulture with Landscape Construction, followed by an HNC in Landscape Management. He then went on to join NTS Falkland Palace as an Assistant Gardener for a year before enrolling on the MacRobert Trust’s Horticultural Trainee Scheme. He subsequently went on to work as a Sole and Freelance Gardener for some large private homes in Perth and Kinross. Returning to NTS Falkland Palace in 2019 as the First Gardener, Ewan took on the role of Head Gardener in July this year.
“My interests within the Garden continue to grow. These include areas like: a planting style that is generally more naturalistic, winter pruning freestanding apples and pears, and as much propagation as time and space allows me. The learning curve is as steep now as it was when I first got into Gardening and I’ve never looked back.”
Graeme MacDonald
Graeme is a Horticulturist working in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) propagation department. Also playing a big part in plant health issues, using cultural and biological methods of pest control, checking footbaths – to prevent the spread of disease on boots and looking after the nursery isolation area for plants arriving from other nurseries and gardens in the UK. He is involved with students and interns on their work placements, teaching key skills needed to succeed in the industry.
“Recently I have been working to propagate the rare and endangered Rhododendrons at Edinburgh, some of which are getting old and showing signs of decline. The plants of Chile are also of great interest to me and in the last, few months I have been given the task of propagating them to boost their numbers in cultivation gaining valuable knowledge for our partners in Chile on successful propagation techniques. The Protaceae family is very intriguing to me and can be difficult to grow without the right growing media; this family does not appreciate too much Phosphorous in the compost as it has special roots for accessing this element.”
Allison Edmonds
Allison is an enthusiastic tree lover and architect with 15 years of experience in design and planning. Her past work ranges from specialty microscopy laboratories to residences and zoo exhibits. Wanting to expand her knowledge and shift her work to the natural environment, she is completing an intensive two-year horticulture education at Longwood Gardens. She is passionate about softening the line between the built and natural realms, while protecting and restoring our functioning ecological systems.
David Domoney
David Domoney is Ambassador and Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture. He is a Fellow of the London Colleges of Horticulture at Capel Manor and is also a Fellow of the Warwickshire Colleges of Horticulture.
He has won over 35 RHS medals and three RHS best in category trophies. Prince Edward personally selected David to win the 2019 Award for Excellence in Horticulture.
David is a celebrated Author and Broadcaster and has presented ITV1’s gardening on prime-time national television for over two decades.
He was formally Governor of the London Colleges of Horticulture and a non-exec Director of the Royal Horticultural Society.
He is Patron of Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Patron of Greenfingers Charity and Patron of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.
Chris Collins
Chris Collins has been at the forefront of Horticulture in the UK for over 25 years now, beginning with an Apprenticeship on Brighton Parks before moving on to get his DHE at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. A large spell overseas working in the rain forests of Cameroon followed by 4 years of horticultural design and lecturing in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. Returning to the UK, Chris worked at Kew Botanic gardens before becoming Head Gardener at Westminster Abbey. Chris was then picked out by the BBC for the Plants-man series and consequently became the resident Blue Peter Gardener. CM Collins Horticulture was set up over 10 years ago and blends Chris’s TV and journalistic work with horticultural design and consultancy, specialising in plants and soft landscaping. Currently Head of Horticulture for Garden Organic.
Andy Sturgeon
Andy is one of the UK’s leading garden designers. Inspired by art and architecture his work explores the relationship between plants and structure and the wider landscape. His modern designs are a fusion of natural materials and contemporary styling which have become known for their timeless architectural qualities, innovative planting and sculptural characteristics.
Andy is the winner of nine RHS Gold medals at Chelsea Flower Show and 3 times ‘Best in Show’. Both The Sunday Times and House and Garden Magazine place him in the Top Ten list of landscape designers in Britain with recent accolades including Gold Awards from Singapore, South Korea and Philadelphia.
Andy lectures around the world. He is a published author, journalist and broadcaster and an active commentator in the international garden design sector. His work is frequently featured in books, magazines and newspapers worldwide.
The in-person event is taking place in the Lecture Theatre, RBGE. A site map is available in the Eventbrite booking system (follow the link below).