1. www.prolandscapermagazine.com Pro Landscaper / February 2017 85
Pro Landscaper spoke to new associate director of YoungHort,
25-year-old Kirsty Wilson, about her goals for the future and her
role as glasshouses supervisor at St Andrews Botanic Garden, Scotland
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What first encouraged you to pursue
a career in horticulture?
I was always an outdoor girl and fascinated by
nature – I enjoyed designing miniature gardens
in trays. As a teenager I started to grow and
propagate plants.
What was your route into the industry?
I’m currently working as the glasshouses
supervisor at St Andrews Botanic Garden in
Scotland. I have a degree in Horticulture with
Plantsmanship from the Royal Botanic Garden
Edinburgh and have worked at both Highgrove
Gardens in the UK and Longwood Gardens in
the USA since graduating.
How did your work experience at
Highgrove and Longwood Gardens help
to develop your skills?
Straight after graduating, I gained skills in the
organic production of fruit, vegetable and cut
flowers at Highgrove. After this, I worked as an
international trainee in America’s top public
garden, Longwood Gardens, gaining an
international perspective on design and display in
ornamental and production horticulture,
integrated pest management and marketing.
Working with 200 other skilled horticulturists was
truly inspirational and I visited many of the top
raising awareness and I would like to feel that I
can now promote that further in Scotland.
What are your main goals within this role
over the upcoming months?
YoungHort is appointing five new ambassadors
and planning a conference for next year. I recently
gave a presentation to launch the RHS Green
Plan It challenge at Glasgow Botanics and will be
giving a presentation at a Grow Careers event at
the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in February.
How do you think we can encourage young
people into a career in horticulture?
Firstly we need to raise awareness using social
media and continue the good work started by the
RHS with schools, career advisers and parents.
Employers need to pay better salaries and value a
profession that might solve the world’s food
problems and deal with climate change. Too many
young people live urban lives divorced from the
natural world, but I have been encouraged in
seeing them embrace the Planet Earth II series –
David Attenborough is one of my heroes.
Twitter: @meadowmania
Blog: www.getplanting.wordpress.com
gardens on the east coast of the
US. I would recommend it, the
experience was great for networking too.
What does your current role involve?
I manage and curate an extensive collection of
plants in 13 glasshouses ranging from desert,
temperate and tropical to display areas. I’m
bringing design skills from Longwood Gardens
to a traditional botanical collection.
How did you become involved with
YoungHort as an associate director?
I’ve always felt passionate about encouraging
young people into a career in horticulture. I
became a YoungHort Ambassador first and met
with Jack Shilley, founder of the initiative, when
he visited Longwood. When I returned to the
UK I took up the new role of associate director
when Jamie Butterworth stepped down. The
team at YoungHort has been instrumental in
PEOPLE
KIRSTY
WILSON
EMPLOYERS NEED TO PAY
BETTER SALARIES AND VALUE
A PROFESSION THAT MIGHT
SOLVE THE WORLD’S FOOD
PROBLEMS AND DEAL WITH
CLIMATE CHANGE
The team at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, USA