MATT Bishop, the head gardener at The Garden House, Buckland Monachorum, is one of the stars of a major photographic exhibition at the RHS Garden Wisley. The exhibition celebrates the centenary of the RHS School of Horticulture and includes eleven images taken by renowned photographer Fiona Secrett, depicting RHS graduates in their new, natural habitats. The photo of Matt shows him leaning on a gate at the Garden House. Matt, who was contacted last year to ask whether he was willing to take part, said he had been 'flattered'. He said: 'I guess they were looking for people who were in fairly prominent horticultural jobs.' Matt went to the RHS school for two years when he left school at 16 and said it had been a 'valuable experience'. They also recorded an interview with him, which can be heard at the exhibition. A severe shortage of skilled gardeners led the RHS to stage the exhibition to highlight the positive benefits of a horticultural career. The exhibition runs at the RHS Garden Wisley from July 1 to 17. At a recent seminar in London, the RHS and several other major horticultural bodies identified a crisis in the recruitment of people considering horticulture as a career. The biggest obstacle to attracting young people into horticulture was the confusion over its definition, with 62% of young people thinking horticulture was another word for farming, while most viewed it as a career for 'old or retired people'.
