Route
to Job: The
4.5ha Borde Hill Garden is surrounded by another 12ha of woodland,
but few jobs overawe Harvey. Brought up in Cornwall, he worked
his way round the world and learned Russian to boot before landing
this top job.
A scholarship to Jerusalem University's Botanic Garden and three
years as a head gardener at Moscow Botanic Garden were backed
up by a hortculture diploma at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,
in 1996.
Harvey joined the "green team" at the Eden Project
in 2000 after returning from Moscow. But a lack of senior vacancies
led him to Horticulture Week's job pages in search of something
that fit "my rather lazy career to date". The reputation
of Borde Hill did just that and he left Eden's lunar landscape.
Typical day: "Everyone
has to dig in and do the dirtiest jobs like litter collection,
including me. The day starts at 7.30am with the preparation
of work sheets. I oversee five staff and many valuable collections
and we have tight budgets.
"I am accountable to a commitee of trustees and reps from
Kew and the Royal Horticultural Society. I also answer to visitors.
Today I am giving a lecture involving plant presentations. This
puts you under the spotlight and isn't perhaps for the faint-hearted.
"We have to tackle every garden maintenance job from pruning
and glass house work, to lawn care and maintaining rushes.
"My travelling broadened my perspective ofthe plant world
and this has helped me with such a varied collection. But I
have to balance this with hands-on work, paperwork and dealing
with visitors. It is hard fitting all this into a day that usually
ends at 4.30pm."
Best
aspect of the job:"Working with a fatastic
collection of plants and committed people."
Worst
aspect: "Theft- we had a sculpture exhibition
recently and eight pieces were stolen."
Ambition:
"To improve my knowledge and help the staff."
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