As the new head of gardens and growing on Tanera Mòr, a remote island in northwest Scotland, Maggie is on a mission to garden as sustainably as possible
PORTRAIT ANDREW MONTGOMERY
Earliest garden memory My grandmother’s council house garden was my first connection with growing. It was small but she had roses trained all over the walls, and every single patch of the heavy clay soil was jam-packed with Asian vegetables. I don’t even know where she got the seeds from. On a hot summer’s day when the strawberries ripened, we would eat them straight from the plants.
Life before gardening? I studied fine art, and worked as an artist specialising in performance art and experimental theatre, setting up social art spaces with my partner Graeme. I don’t see gardening as a career change; more of a transition. I merely changed my medium.
First plant love Myosotis. I like to think it was Myosotis ‘Royal Blue’, as it is the most incredible sky blue.
Horticultural heroes?Aside from my grandmother, Isabella Vaughan, the former owner of Kerdalo in Brittany, was a big influence. Early in my career, she showed me that quality was about the whole process, and began with great nurseries. Also Siew Lee Vorley, who was assistant head gardener of Great Dixter when I was training there, and horticulturists Rachael Dodd and Robert Bradshaw.
Favourite gardenKeith Wiley’s Wildside. Contemporary gardens of scale are rarely created without the backing of heritage and wealth, so I’ve always been stunned with Keith’s daring to have such vision and the sheer will to enact it.
Most valuable training De Hessenhof nursery in the Netherlands. I am interested in what it is to be sustainable and Hans and Miranda Kramer are an influential model.
