People & Planet
Radley X RHS: Meet Some of the Female Gardeners at RHS Garden Wisley
13 May 2024
Our Radley X RHS special edition collection was first dreamed up due to our many shared values with the UK’s leading gardening charity, including celebrating the role of women in the workplace. So we were thrilled to be asked to spend the day in the stunning gardens at RHS Garden Wisley and meet some of the female students and horticulturalists there.
Of course we had to ask for a full tour also, see that over on our Instagram page.
MEET EMILY
Having previously worked in the fashion industry, Emily was looking for a career change that would allow her creativity to flourish. She enrolled in the RHS work-based training programme and has loved every minute of it.
“When I left my job in fashion, I was insistent I wouldn’t give up everything about me, my nails being one thing. I wear two pairs of gloves every day to protect them.”
MEET FELICITY
Now in her second year of a diploma in horticultural practice, Felicity has loved just how varied her experience with the RHS has been.
“It’s very empowering to be around other women who love the same sort of thing you do.”
MEET GEMMA
Gemma previously worked in the wine industry but was looking for a career with more flexibility after she became a mum. She’s now a trials horticulturalist at RHS Garden Wisley.
“One of the amazing things that I was involved in last year was helping out on the team that decorated Westminster Abbey for the coronation of King Charles.”
MEET RESHMA
From Canary Wharf to Wisley. Reshma previously worked in investment banking for 15 years but is now with the RHS on a work-based training programme.
“I came back from an assignment in the Middle East after working there for three years and I realised I wanted to be outdoors more. I was missing nature, and I was missing the seasons.”
We’d like to say a huge thank you to the team at RHS Garden Wisley for chatting with us and showing us around.
Learn more about the female British artists and designers featured in the RHS X Radley collection over on our blog post all about the designs.
®The Royal Horticultural Society. Trade marks of The RHS (Registered Charity No 222879/SC038262) used under licence from RHS Enterprises Ltd.