Why we love National Trust for Scotland gardens

Transcript

The National Trust for Scotland looks after nearly 40 gardens for people to visit, and lots of green spaces too. 
Over 125 professional horticulturalists, hundreds of volunteers and some trainees as well care for these beautiful places. 
Every member of our gardening team shapes what visitors experience, today, tomorrow, maybe even in hundreds of years' time, through their commitment, day-in, day-out, come storm, flood or drought.
Their expertise and mindful interventions ensure each garden remains unique, true to its own spirit, history, design and planting choice.
And yet, they also adapt to mitigate the modern pressures of climate and environment change.

Our gardeners develop a deep love and understanding for the places they work in.
These gardens become part of your soul.
There's something that you can't quite put your finger on, the feel of the gardens just makes you want to be here.
There's something kind of comforting about it.
So, even when you are tied up in what might be the busiest week of the year or a really busy day, you can always find a little nook of the garden where it settles you down and you always get that relaxing feeling somewhere in the garden.
And that, I think, goes for everyone that visits, and works here too.

The great thing about volunteering for the National Trust for Scotland is the fact that these historic properties have been here for so long, and they're on such a scale.
Having the opportunity to work with this number of plants, with the history of the place, it's just an amazing opportunity.
I feel very proud to work for a big organisation like the National Trust for Scotland.
And it's really good because there are so many networking opportunities.  
There are so many other gardeners that we bump into at conferences, or will come and visit the garden -- and just being able to chat to the other gardeners within the Trust and see how they are doing things and how we can implement things here.
I love being able to share ideas.
I definitely feel like you're part of a wider community of gardeners.  

We have so many people that are coming as a career change, to come and learn horticulture from us, and that is amazing.
It's so important to allow horticulture, which is one of the oldest trades in the world, to continue through -- and at sites like this, this is where we can harness that energy and allow people to stride forward into their horticultural career.

The team in the garden are just superb. We've got a great head gardener.
We've got a great gardening team and we've got a great team of volunteers.
There's always something to do. You're always busy; the day flies in. 
There's so much variety of things. It's just such a lovely place to work.

I think we all know how important it is to have outdoor spaces -- to walk, get some fresh air, to forest-bathe, to walk our dogs, to teach our children about nature, to learn about plants, to learn about our history --which is why the gardens in the care of the National Trust for Scotland are so important.

When you're visiting a National Trust for Scotland garden, what you're seeing is a moment of time, which is the result of decades, sometimes centuries, of skilled work by dedicated gardeners.

The gardens in the care of the National Trust for Scotland are places of beauty, heritage, ambition, activity, tranquillity, sight, sound and taste.
It takes skill, passion and dedication to bring them to life.
Together, our community of gardeners is its very own force of nature.