“We don’t conform to fads or fashions”

Fergus first visited Great Dixter as a student, then joined the team in 1992. Now he heads up a small team of gardeners and volunteers.

How did you come to work at Great Dixter? Christo was interested in anyone who was keen, and I was there with my notebook, making drawings. He invited me, along with lots of other people, to the house at weekends. Many years later, when I was between jobs, Christo offered me the head gardener role. I didn’t want working there to spoil my relationship with the garden, so initially I turned it down but Christo told me to stop being childish: “Just say yes and we’ll take it from there!”

How big is your team? We have five full-time gardeners, including someone who grows veg and manages the house. We always have four to six students, who are highly committed and motivated, and they become the catalyst for it all.

What are the main seasonal jobs? We sow and propagate many thousands of plants all year. Planting in autumn carries on through winter right until August. In October we finish the meadow cutting and rip apart the garden to get the tender stuff into the greenhouses. If plants have become integrated we have to lift the whole bed. We replace it with winter and spring bedding. From January until mid-March we prune and weed the whole garden. Then we start sowing, pricking out and getting creative with our pot displays. What’s the priority for August? By now most of our plants are in the ground so we’re watering them. We start cutting the meadows once the last common spotted orchids have gone to seed, but we leave some areas uncut as a safe haven for insects. We cut the hedges, which won’t grow much after this so they look sharp through winter.

Do you have a favourite part of the gardens? I’d say the meadows because they’re slightly out of my control. They’re like being on a wild horse rather than something tame, and you never quite know what’s going on in the dark, mysterious bug world they contain.

What’s the most challenging part of your job? It’s a fine balance between keeping something familiar to the family but also staying dynamic. If I did the same as Christo did, the garden would lose something, so I have to make changes, following my gut feeling, but without being gimmicky either. With any place that’s old fashioned, there’s a sense of place about it, but we have to fight to keep it quirky.

Any special planting projects? I’ve started using more conifers, which lots of people aren’t comfortable with, but there are many strikinglooking ones. I’m picking out those with interesting textures. It’s striking what one plant can do – in the exotic garden they can turn the subtropical into the Jurassic.

What’s the best bit of your job? You’re in a heavenly place that’s alive with wildlife, history and a lovely atmosphere. The wood is cracked, the York stone paving is worn down, yet so many people love it! I meet inspirational people, from National Plant Collection holders to students, many with a heart of gold; it’s a privilege to be alongside them.