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An industry we can all be proud of

28 Apr 2022 | BALI Member News

For nearly 350 years, Chelsea Physic Garden has occupied four acres of land on the edge of the River Thames in London. It has survived land-grabs, near financial collapse and narrowly missed the Great Fire of London and yet, despite such adversity, it has survived.

Not only have they survived, they are thriving with exciting plans for the future. They have just confirmed a new trainee recruit; a two-year position part funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in conjunction with their Glasshouses Restoration Project. They were able to advertise the role to people who might find it difficult to enter the horticultural industry by conventional means. They were overwhelmed with applications.

This is music to Paul Foster’s ears. Paul is a British Association of Landscapes Industries member and owner of Accredited Contractor Allium Gardeners based in Suffolk. He has come here to Chelsea Physic Garden to meet Manoj Malde, garden designer, television presenter, and the RHS’s first Indian judge and now one of four Association Equity Ambassadors, to ask him about his new role and what he hopes to achieve around diversity in the industry, and to consider the importance of such traineeships and how to give support where it is most needed.

They are happily sharing ideas and knowledge with each other and discussing their favourite plants and trees whilst standing in front of beautiful specimens of Bencomia moquiniana and Euphorbia atropurpurea in the Atlantic Islands glasshouse. Manoj sights Arbutus × andrachnoides as his tree of the moment - “I absolutely love it.” Manoj’s passion for plants and people shines through in equal measure and, as Paul proffers his current tree of choice, Pyrus calleryana ‘Chanticleer’, both find a simple connection through their love of plants.

Paul moves the conversation to the new role and asks Manoj what he hopes to achieve:

“Being an Equity Ambassador gives me a wider platform to encourage young people to enter the industry. If I can be an example to a more diverse group of people to come into horticulture, and I am not just talking about people of colour I am talking about women, LGBTQ+ community, people who are less able bodied, people who are hard of hearing or deaf. If I can be somebody to encourage them – that is what I would like to do.”

Paul has long felt that although horticulture has given him a wonderful career, sometimes he has found people have not always immediately seen him as the business owner because of his skin colour:

“It can be as simple as a delivery driver walking past me to a colleague, expecting them to be the boss, not me. I come from a diverse background and, with more people like you, Manoj, being in the public eye and with people like me being able to recognise ourselves – it is going to go a long way to helping – it really is.”

Pictured L- R Paul Foster and Manoj Malde

Manoj recalls growing up in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s:

“I’ve experienced racism. I’ve experienced homophobia and bullying when I was at school. I could so easily have let that define me. I do not condone any of that contemptible behaviour. It has no place in our society. I have always been determined to fight against it with a positive approach. It’s worked for me but not everyone can find that emotional fight and, more importantly, shouldn’t need to. I hope we can make it a thing of the past, so they no longer have to. Skin colour and other less visible differences should not determine what people can achieve or the route to how they achieve.”

Paul feels that a change in attitudes is possible but has been a long time coming:

“By giving more people an opportunity, they are only going to bring something more dynamic into the industry.”

Paul uses the analogy of food:

“Cooking has become so much more interesting by mixing more foods from around the world together – it just makes sense!”

Manoj adds:

“We live in a multi-cultural country. In the UK we benefit from the fact that we have people living here from many distinct cultures and backgrounds. Food is a great analogy! How many restaurants and cuisines do we have here? And we get to experience all of that, and we are richer for it. Why can we not be equally rich by encouraging members of other communities into our industry. I think those changes have started and I am excited by that”.

Paul talks about some work he has undertaken in local schools and Manoj enthuses;

“so much more can be done to help show school age children that a career in horticulture is a possibility.”

With their shared love of plants is also a passion for colour in the garden and they explore that maybe heritage and life experiences play a part of their natural love of colour. Manoj enthuses:

“When I am designing a planting plan, it’s like designing a print on a piece of silk. I look at colour as much as form and structure in the garden”

Paul agrees that colour in the garden is often abandoned for the desired ‘low-maintenance’ planting and concurs how much he enjoys bringing colour to his work.

“In my own business I tend to find a lot of people have opted for evergreen plants for all year colour and they can fear using vibrant colours. I gently encourage them to try a little harder”

he laughs. People matter to Manoj:

“My Instagram is now getting so many people from diverse backgrounds who garden and want to ask me gardening questions. It is such a pleasure to chat to them and encourage them. I think it is time that the industry acknowledges more of the amazing people we already have in the industry and help to raise their profiles because by doing that it will have an amazing and profound effect on encouraging people from other backgrounds to come and join a wonderful industry and it is a wonderful industry. It’s an industry where you don’t just become a number, you can make a difference. Surely that is a legacy we can all be proud of, together?”

Pictured L-R Paul Foster and Manoj Malde

Photography: Scout Johnstone

With thanks to Chelsea Physic Garden, 66 Royal Hospital Road, SW3 4HS

Find out more: bali.org.uk manojmaldegardendesign.co.uk alliumgardeners.com

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