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From its iconic Dry Garden to exciting new features, our Essex garden goes from strength to strength. From its iconic Dry Garden to exciting new features, our Essex garden goes from strength to strength.
I finally made plans for my departure into a career that would not only be something completely different but also infinitely more rewarding
My horticultural career started relatively late having spent the majority of my working life commuting to London and working in investment banking. Having been unhappy for a number of years sitting behind a desk all day, I came to the realisation that there has to be more to life than this. I finally made plans for my departure into a career that would not only be something completely different but also infinitely more rewarding. My wife and I decided to quit our jobs in London and we decided to travel around Europe for 6 months. This gave me the much needed time away from the stress and office life to help me realise where my passions lied and for me, that was horticulture. I grew up on a farm in the Essex countryside and loved the outdoor life in closer contact with nature and the natural environment. I retrained and studied Horticulture at Writtle and Hadlow College for three years and in my final year started as a trainee at RHS Garden Hyde Hall. A few months later my role became full time. I looked after the naturalistic plantings on Clover Hill and from here developed a passion for this style of planting. I became Team Leader in 2016, managing a team of five horticulturists and in 2019 I became Garden Manager. I now manage the Garden Entrance, Cottage Garden, Modern Country Garden, Birch Grove, Winter Garden, Clover Hill, the Lake and the Sky Meadow. I also manage all of the Nursery functions at Hyde Hall including plant quarantine, propagation and glasshouses.
Tom Freeman
Hyde Hall’s autumn showstoppers
Grasses for all seasons
Working outside all year round, you get to intimately know and feel the seasons as they come an
As we rapidly approach autumn, summer flowering perennials start to fade, however this is the t
An exciting ongoing project to create a perennial meadow that is as ambitious as it is big
The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.
