GARDENING
- life
David
Howard
“I was in
the right
place at the
right time”
He may be a top royal
gardener but life’s not
always been a bed of roses
for David Howard.
There have been twists and turns
aplenty on the journey to becoming
head gardener for the Prince of
Wales.
Earlier this spring David visited the
Island to give a talk about his work
at Highgrove and he took some time
out to tell Island Life the story of
how he got where he is today.
David left school in 1974 with
a handful of O-levels and the
knowledge that he wanted to work
in the great outdoors.
After a spell at his local agricultural
college in South Staffordshire, his
tutor thought he showed enough
promise to try for the royal gardens’
student scheme at Windsor.
He was one of just two students
out of twenty in his class to win a
place on the two-year course.
Afterwards he hoped to go on to
take a three-year diploma at either
Kew or Edinburgh but his early royal
connection failed to open any doors.
Both colleges turned him down
and advised him to get more
experience.
He spent a year working at Hilliers
Nurseries near Winchester and was
finally accepted at Edinburgh.
In 1982, after four months working
in a Botanic garden in Sweden,
David returned home with plans
to set up on his own as a landscape
gardener.
He says: “I don’t know what it
Photo: Left to Right - Chairman of the Friends Society Tom
Smith, David Howard, Social Secretary Philip Le May
was like on the Island but in the
midlands we had snow and ice for
about six weeks.
“Overnight temperatures went
down to minus 22C and I didn’t
have enough money to get myself
through the winter and set up on
my own.”
He returned to Hilliers, this time in
Havant, and then, through a stroke
of luck, was offered the chance to
join a plant collecting expedition in
the Himalayas.
David adds: “This was one of the
highlights of my life.
“We stayed on houseboats on the
lake at Srinagar and made three or
four day forays into the mountains
to photograph plants and harvest
seed.
“It was like stepping back in time
to the days of the Victorian plant
collectors.
“You couldn’t harvest wild seed
like that now. It would have to be
done in conjunction with other
Botanic gardens.”
On his return he got a job looking
after a 53-acre estate building
gardens from scratch for a financier.
“But six months in I realised I
was working for a crook. He was
in financial trouble and the whole
thing fell apart.
“I resigned. It took sometime to get
my money but I was lucky – some
of the staff who stayed on after me
never saw theirs.”
Disillusioned, David went to stay
in the Cotswolds with a friend and
Island Life - www.isleofwight.net
ended up setting up on his own for
almost five years.
“It was about this time I met
my wife and she asked me why I
couldn’t get a real job like anybody
else.
“I was earning money but when
you are self-employed and you get a
couple of bad payers in a row you’re
in dire straits.”
David headed for the security of
a job on a farm in Herefordshire
before being offered a job on the
estate of Lord and Lady Gibson near
Crowborough, Sussex, where he
stayed for seven years.
It was then that the opportunity
arose to work for Prince Charles.
David says: “I never anticipated
that I would be head gardener at
Highgrove. I just happened to be in
the right place at the right time.
“Because of my background and
experiences I was able to offer a little
bit more than the other candidates.
“I joined the gardens at an exciting
time. They were just about 18 years
old and starting to look tired.
“I saw an opportunity to change
things and take the gardens into the
next 20 or 25 years.”
David hopes to be able to continue
at Highgrove for the foreseeable
future.
“It’s an exciting and dynamic place
to work and the main reason for
that is that the Prince of Wales is a
very dynamic person and that rubs
off on all his staff.
“He’s a keen and knowledgeable
David showing some of the tools
that are used at Highgrove.
gardener and likes to get his hands
dirty.
“He consults me with his ideas
for the gardens and if they are not
suitable I have to tell him in the
nicest possible way and we will
come to a compromise.”
David and his wife have two
children Megan, 16, and Thomas, 14
“Neither of them are going to
follow me into gardening. Thomas
wants to be an organic farmer and
Megan has no idea at all.”
And despite being the gardening
expert to the heir of the throne there
is one garden over which David has
no jurisdiction at all – his own.
He explains: “I leave that to my
wife. That’s been the arrangement
for the last 17 years and she does
what she wants.
“I’ve learnt just to give advice when
I’m asked!”
Davids back again on the 25th
May at the Riverside Centre Tickets
£6.00 - Starts 7.30pm.
Call - Philip Le May 01983 853824
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