Meet Steve whose life has been transformed by a horticultural career change.
Steve Whitehead
Three years ago, Steve Whitehead was very stressed. He was working 12 hours a day, often faced a gruelling three hour commute to and from work, and was constantly under pressure to reach higher targets.
'I was in danger of becoming seriously ill,' he admits now:
'An accountant would ring me at the end of every day to ask if I’d reach my sales targets. It was awful and eventually I just realised that something had to change.'
At the time, Steve was working for a large chain of garden centres in the South East of England. He’d already gone through one career change when he left his job as a warden for the Youth Hostel Association in South Devon, and switched paths to retrain in horticulture, which led to the garden centre job.
'It was a very commercial world and in the end, it just got very depressing. It sound a bit corny now but I felt I wanted to get out of the rat race and do something with ‘meaning’, rather than working flat out to make money for shareholders.'
© NTPL / Andrew Butler
Steve’s desperate need for change brought him to Wales, when he was appointed Head Gardener at the Colby Estate and Woodland Garden in Pembrokeshire. The estate takes its name from John Colby, the industrial entrepreneur who along with Lord Milford mined the area in the early 1880’s. He built Colby Lodge in 1803 to a John Nash design, and used the property as a holiday home for his family. But it was the next owners, the Kay family who really developed the beautiful gardens on the estate, the gardens which have now become a second home for Steve.
'It was really dramatic. I suddenly felt a huge sense of purpose and was actually happy coming into work in the morning. Straight away I could see areas where we could get to work and improve the gardens, particularly for wildlife and of course, for the visitors.'
One of the first projects involved allowing the huge lawned area which runs through the middle of the garden to become a wild-flower meadow, providing a rich habitat for insects and birds. Steve decided to mow paths through the meadow to allow easier access for the public, so that they could enjoy the results. The paths follow a sea-trout breeding stream where several kingfishers have been spotted, along with otters, water shrews, and many different types of insects.
It’s all a far cry from his previous hectic lifestyle and Steve’s enthusiasm for his job is infectious:
'In some ways, I work just as hard as I did before – often the same hours – but there’s a big difference because I really feel I’m achieving something worthwhile. There’s a sense of preserving history here at Colby and enhancing it for future visitors.'
But life isn’t all rosy for Steve. There’s a blot on his landscape, which is threatening almost everything they do in the gardens. The botanic disease Phytopthera has taken hold in the area and although a less virulent strain than the one currently attacking plants in the South West of England, it is a major problem. Rhododendrons are particularly vulnerable and as Colby can boast one of the best collections in South Wales, there’s a very real danger that many plants will be lost to the disease. Routine tests are carried out every couple of weeks and any plants found to be affected have to be destroyed. Just last week, a group of magnolia trees were identified as showing symptoms and Steve and his team are now waiting for a decision as to whether the trees will have to be cut down.
'I’ve got to stay positive but it is really distressing. It affects everything we do – we have to disinfect our tools every time we prune a plant or bush before moving on to the next task. It’s impossible to eradicate and we just have to get on with it. I’m trying to see it all as a chance to redevelop parts of the garden at Colby – otherwise it doesn’t bear thinking about.'
|
