Thank you to all who voted for your favourite of these eight Cornish head gardeners, the voting has now closed and the winner will be announced at this year’s Spring Flower Show

Darren Dickey, Trebah Gardens

Darren first came to Trebah to help clear paths in the aftermath of the devastating storm which hit Cornwall in 1990. His previous experience, after studying horticulture at Duchy College Rosewarne, included periods at Trebah’s neighbouring garden, Glendurgan, and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. He found subtropical Trebah an exciting place to work, and has been there ever since. Since he became head gardener, Darren’s aim has been to maintain “the fine balance between making the garden too pretty and leaving it too wild”. He has supervised the planting of thousands of snowdrops and crocuses to enhance Trebah’s spectacular springtime show, as well as exotic trees and shrubs to bring colour to the garden all year round. He also created an amphitheatre in the garden, using locally sourced granite.

Tommy Teagle at Lanhydrock.

Tommy will never forget the ferocious storm of January 1990, which swept through the glorious gardens at Lanhydrock and brought down more than 1,000 trees. He was assistant head gardener at the time, and three years later, when he was appointed to the top job, he presided over a huge replanting programme, which included the creation of a shelterbelt of 23,000 trees. Among Tommy’s more recent projects have been the planting of 20,000 snowdrops, and the development of Lanhydock’s commercial nursery, which now supplies all the National Trust properties in the south region. It is also important to him to ensure that Lanhydrock is always full of flowers. “There is usually a magnolia in flower every month of the year,” he says.

Richard Morton at Trewidden.

Richard learned his craft at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and also had experience of gardening on the edge of Bodmin Moor before he became head gardener at Trewidden. It is the perfect place for a man with a passion for magnolias: there are many magnificent specimens in the lush, sheltered gardens. Richard is keen to promote Trewidden’s mining heritage – it contains what is reputedly the oldest site of tin extraction in the country – and to maintain the tradition of early 20th century plant hunters by experimenting with unusual and often tender species from around the world. He is also keen that Trewithen, still home to the Bolitho family, remains a welcoming place to wander. As he says: “Visiting Trewidden is like walking around a family garden, and we want to keep it like that.”

Neil Bennett at Tregothnan.

There are 100 acres of botanical gardens at Tregothnan, together with extensive woodland – which present a head gardener with huge challenges, but also vast scope. Originally from Essex, Neil started working at the estate 10 years ago, becoming head gardener in 2007. Tregothnan’s first tea bushes were already growing in the kitchen garden, and Neil has since established plantations throughout the estate. Tregothnan tea is now much in demand – and has even been exported to China. But Tregothnan is not just about tea, and one of Neil’s priorities is to add to its already impressive plant collection every year. He gives regular guided tours of the gardens, and one visitor described him as “a man whose love and passion for his job radiates out of every pore”.

John Harris at Tresillian House.

When John agreed to take on the task of restoring the derelict Victorian walled garden at Tresillian, it was on condition that he could manage the garden not just 100 per cent organically, but according to the principles of moon gardening. Years before, as a young apprentice gardener, John had become fascinated by the system, which was practised by many ancient civilisations. Since then, he has always tried to work in harmony with nature. The results of his efforts can be seen not just in the walled garden, with its abundance of perfect peaches and peas and intoxicating floral scents, but in the orchard beyond, planted with old varieties of Cornish apples and daffodils. His advice to fellow gardeners? “If you nurture your plants and follow the lunar calendar, you will be rewarded.”

Jaimie Parsons Caerhays

Jaimie Parsons (Caerhays) Jaimie comes from a gardening dynasty – his grandfather and great-grandfather both had a passion for plants – and he was just 12 when he was given his first greenhouse. He has known the Caerhays Estate all his life, and was thrilled to be offered a job in the extensive and spectacular gardens there. Two years later, in 1996, he became only the fourth head gardener at Caerhays since 1896. His style is informal: “Nature doesn’t have colour schemes, so we don’t,” he says. Jaimie has continued the Caerhays tradition of creating stunningly beautiful camellia and magnolia hybrids, and he is now masterminding the replanting of 30 acres of woodland gardens – inaccessible for 30 years – which will feature 100 rhododendron species recently brought from China and Nepal.

Gary Long at Trewithen.

Last year, Gary celebrated 10 years as head gardener at Trewithen, one of only 30 worldwide to be awarded Garden of Excellence status by the International Camellia Society. For Gary, the highlight of the last decade has been his two trips to China, where he followed in the footsteps of George Forrest, the plant hunter who brought many rare camellias to Trewithen. Gary describes seeing camellia growing in the wild as “an inspiring and life-changing experience”. His gardening career began with a Youth Training Scheme placement at Trelissick, and he then spent nine years at Tregothnan. His achievements at Trewithen have included the creation of a rose garden and the introduction of wildlife to the garden, including red squirrels. His current projects include a Himalayan valley and a pinetum.

Dave Bouch at Cotehele

In 2009, David was included in the Independent on Sunday’s Happy List of 100 people who make Britain a better and a happier place to live. He certainly brings joy to the many visitors who come to Cotehele every December – by presiding over the creation of the estate’s celebrated Christmas garland, which consists of 60 feet of dried flowers, all of which are sown and grown in the garden. David has extensive experience as a National Trust gardener in Cornwall, having worked at Trelissick and Antony, as well as Saltram House near Plymouth. He has been head gardener at Cotehele for more than a decade, during which one of his major achievements has been establishing a new Mother Orchard of traditional Tamar Valley apple and cherry varieties, many of which were at risk of disappearing.

Photographs by Charles Francis (move your mouse to the description box to see the text more clearly).

For centuries, the head gardener was a key figure in the day-to-day life of a country estate. He (and it nearly always was a he) needed not only sound horticultural skills, but also the ability to manage a team of garden boys, apprentices and under-gardeners. Few of his 21st century counterparts benefit from such extensive back-up – but what they do have is an abundance of dedication, ingenuity and enthusiasm. The eight head gardeners featured in the slideshow above have all these qualities in spades – qualities which are particularly important when you’re doing the job in Cornwall, home of some of the world’s most magnificent gardens. One of them will take home a trophy from the Spring Flower Show at Boconnoc (March 28 and 29) – find out how to vote at the end of the piece.