As seems to be common, I started gardening when I bought my first house, which happened to be in Bristol. This had a postage stamp-sized back garden with a small pond that I filled in and planted up in a random fashion.

My next house had a larger garden in which I swiftly invested much time and energy. My efforts were rewarded in feelings of happiness at a time when I was not particularly satisfied in other areas of my life. I found myself seriously pondering, “How do I turn this into a real job?”

Well, once that question was out there, a flurry of seeming coincidences started to manifest and, within a few months, my house was sold and I was enrolled as a full-time student at Cannington College, near Bridgwater in Somerset to study horticulture and landscape design.

College was followed by an apprenticeship under Nori and Sandra Pope at Hadspen Garden in Somerset. This was an amazing learning experience where I was allowed to be involved in just about every aspect of the business: gardening, propagating, advising the public and selling plants. I learned a lot!

The garden provided a booklet with a garden plan and a list of all the plants featured within it, the walled garden being divided into colour sections starting with yellow then orange, red etc. I still refer to my well-thumbed and annotated copy when I can remember the colour of the plant, but have forgotten its name.

A month at the Kirstenbosch, the botanical gardens in Cape Town, added another facet of knowledge and experience.

Even after 20 years the learning never stops. When you are dealing with nature and the elements you cannot always predict the outcome but, as with most things in life, the more you observe, study and experience, then the better your chances of success.