Caroline Bavey
Landscape & Garden Manager
Explorers Garden
Guardianship of the Explorers Garden has been entrusted to Caroline Bavey, who came to the role as Landscape and Garden Manager after working on a project in 2022, which saw her awarded a Gold accolade at the prestigious RHS Hampton Court exhibition with a show garden that she produced and grew herself at home in Pitlochry.
She worked with a group of five other ladies from around the UK that she had never met before.
Caroline explains:
“We were all working alongside each other as an experiment. It worked, and we pulled it off together, coming away with a Gold against all the top professionals.
We, everyday people, made it work with pure hard work and determination to succeed.”
And it’s that dedication and passion for her job that is seeing the Explorers Garden being brought back to life so that visitors can enjoy it once again.
Caroline says:
“I don’t have the usual horticultural background that people might have looked for in appointing the role, but I am very glad they gave me this opportunity and that I am proving to be the asset they wanted.
I hope that I have shown so far that I am the right person for the job.”
And Caroline is not only bringing her horticultural knowledge to the table, she is literally also making the tables! Caroline is hands on, not only when it comes to tending to the plants but also when it comes to refurbishing some of the Garden’s structures or weaving natural arches from prunings to ensure that nothing goes to waste.
Caroline is aiming to make our Explorers Garden a space that people want to be part of and something that they can get involved in.
She is creating links with the local community and has great ideas for the continued success of the garden, including hosting workshops and other events and activities – there has already been a wedding in the Garden!
Caroline adds:
“My heart is full of love for the garden, and I want to protect it and share it with others. The outdoors is a special place to be.
A whole new world awaits you outside, step out and join me in the adventure.”
Over and above her work in the garden, Caroline loves being a mum to her two grown-up daughters Alexandra and Emma, enjoying horse riding and other outdoor activities with them, as well as walks with her Cocker Spaniel, Brodie, and spending time tending her own garden.
