Interview
But when he saw Portsmouth Council were advertising for apprentices in its Parks Department , it seemed too good an opportunity to ignore . As it turned out , Chris was one of the last apprentices to be taken on by the council ( ironically , his father had been one of the first ) before the competitive tendering system was brought in . Now , he counts that apprenticeship as the best step he ever took : “ My life didn ’ t really start until I went into that job ” he says . Not that it wasn ’ t without its challenges : in those days many of the apprentices and supervisors were drawn from tough military or even criminal backgrounds and Chris recalls that racism , sexism , violence and homophobia were rife , making for a tough and uncomfortable environment . “ Among them though were some fantastic people , from whom I learnt the most about horticulture ” he says .
Memorable mentor
One such was Jim Heyworth , who had trained at Kew Gardens , and took the young Chris under his wing . “ If you showed you were interested , he really nurtured you , and that was my saving grace ” says Chris , who went on to gain his Master of Horticulture and become foreman of the showpiece Rock Garden at Southsea by the time he was 20 . When competitive tendering was introduced by the council in 1989 , Chris was faced with redundancy - but the cloud had a silver lining because , with Jim ’ s encouragement , he went on to land himself a place on the Diploma course at Kew . Going back to being a student was a challenge - especially at the worldrenowned Gardens that attract top students from all over the world . “ At first I always felt very much like the bloke from the council !” he says , “ but I began to realise that I had actually built up a lot of valuable practical skills and that gave me more confidence .” The joy of being at Kew , he says , was working with extraordinarily rare plants that hadn ’ t been seen before . “ That was what I was really interested in ” he says . “ I found it exciting to be the first person to grow something from a rare seed ”. After finishing his Diploma at Kew ,
Chris was employed as a supervisor in its famous conservatory , which further developed his knowledge of tropical plants – and in particular his own personal favourites , Water Lilies , which he would later go on to introduce with great success at Ventnor .
Outward bound
Before his move to the Island , though , he continued his own personal voyage of discovery and learning by heading off and working in Sweden , Russia , and then , perhaps the most exotic location of all , the Limbe Botanic Garden in Cameroon . Originally developed in Victorian times as a nursery for cash crops such as rubber , coffee , sugar , bananas and oil palm , the garden is now dedicated to conservation and science as well as leisure and tourism . At just 26 , Chris was the youngest curator the garden had ever had , and he describes it as “ hugely exciting ” to have been involved in tropical plant conservation . “ The real kick for me was having the opportunity to get a close-up view of the Rainforest before it goes ” he says . “ I was able to get out into the Bush on plantcollecting trips , a bit like the plant hunters of Victorian times .” After a year in the tropical idyll , Chris came back to the UK to set up home with his partner , supporting himself as a freelance , lecturing in colleges and doing various horticultural commissions - from working on big garden developments to once sourcing an Olive tree for the late opera singer Pavarotti .
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