Interview - Marion Whitehead
I met Marion when we were both 10 at primary school, so it’s safe to say I know her pretty damn well. She’s my nature-loving pal and the interview below explains a fairly drastic career change, which you’ll soon start to realise, is fairly normal. That’s one of the points of this interview series. Everyone thinks they have to stick to one particular path, but often, you need to go with your gut and switch things up if it isn’t making you truly happy. Sometimes that’s easy and other times, not. Marion is a witty one as you’ll see in her responses. She also runs into the wilderness alone and writes haikus. Such a weirdo.
Enjoy! xx Lucy
The Questions:
Name: Marion Whitehead
Current location: Katoomba in the Blue Mountains (outside Sydney)
Where are you originally from/what is your family heritage? I’m from Sydney, and so is my whole family.
Current occupation, industry and title: I am currently the Nursery Manager at the Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens. My job title is technically Senior Horticulturist, Nursery and I’m in the horticulture industry. I am also a copywriter on the side, which I do as a sole trader. But my full time job is nursery work.
Business name if relevant: The Royal Botanic Gardens
Years in current industry: Five
Total working years: Nine
Marion on one of her runs into the wild
What did you study or train or get experience and where? I studied a double degree of plant science and history at Sydney Uni and then I went on to work in television marketing out of university. After a few years at Channel 9 I really wanted to return to working with plants so I started an apprenticeship in horticulture at the Botanic Gardens. Since then I’ve completed a Certificate III in Parks and Gardens and an apprenticeship of on the job training and here I am!
What is the best and worst part about your job?
Best: there are so many good parts of my job it’s hard to know where to start; being outside in an absolutely beautiful setting is amazing, being physical in my job is also fantastic. There is a bit of conservation involved in my role which makes me feel like I’m doing my part to make the world better. I love propagating plants, seeing them grow well and respond to the love I give them. I also enjoy the record-keeping part of my job. The difference between a botanic garden and a regular ornamental garden is that we have records on every plant we have, where it’s come from and a large collection of wild collected species plants. I love maintaining these records and learning the stories of the plants and where they’ve come from.
Worst: In the nursery industry you do a lot of failing before you get things right. For example, when you take fifty cuttings of a plant hoping to grow on a whole lot more plant material and all your cuttings fail because there wasn’t enough drainage in the soil or some sort of creepy crawly ate them, it can be very disheartening. There is a lot of science in horticulture and consequently there is heaps of trail and error. I hate the error part.
What do you think needs to change in your industry? More females in leadership roles, and in visible hands on horticultural roles.
Is your industry female or male dominated? Very much male dominated
What is the biggest misconception people have about you and/or your job?
I think, especially out in the field when maintaining garden beds, there can be a misconception that gardeners aren’t very intelligent, and that the job is just a labour sort of role. People will often talk about the plants and gardens you’re tending to you, or around you, like you have no idea about them. It’s weird. People who know plants and work in horticulture are very scientifically minded and there is so much specific knowledge that pertains to horticulture, you need to be really interested, be reading up all the time on science and botanical nomenclature and be experimenting constantly to be able to curate beautiful displays and keep a huge variety of plants happy and looking good.
What's something you wish people told you about your industry/job before you dove into it?
Experience is key in horticulture. You can do all the study you want, but nothing beats hands on experience. The best possible thing you can do before working in horticulture is to love horticulture. Have your own garden, grow your own house plants, just froth on the natural environment really.
Is your industry generally supportive of individuals and peers?
I’m not sure about other organisations but I am very lucky where I am. I have a fiercely supportive group of managers who have my back and want to help me constantly learn. I’ve also been lucky enough to be mentored by senior female leaders in my organisation, all of which have really helped me navigate my career path.
Have you ever considered leaving your industry? If you have, what other industries did you work in and why the change?
The industry I’m in now was my sea change, so I won’t be leaving it literally ever.
What's the favourite thing/item/project/person you've worked on?
In horticulture, the best project I’ve worked on was reorganising the nursery I now manage. The role had been vacant for six months when I came on board, so to get to weed it all, clean paths, group things into little collections (like lush shade plants, gorgeous!!) and get the records in order so I knew every plant in the place and where it was… it was an organisation fanatic’s dream. But also working with rare and endangered plants is cool, not quite a project, but I loved tending the North American Woodland I cared for before this role and helping unusual and rare plants in there thrive was a joy.
What's something you had to do earlier in your career that you're relieved not to have to do anymore?
I’m relieved not to be working in marketing at all anymore, but in horticulture, you’re always doing the basics. You’ll always be weeding, you’ll always be watering, but I suppose not being an apprentice any more is nice. Knowing that I’m moving forward in a role where I can guide how things happen and look is nice. Also, I am bossy and I like to tell people what to do, not defer to them haha.
If you have your own brand/business, did you start it right away or work for others first?
I am a copywriter on the side, and I always did that for myself, rather than for anyone else. But horticulture I’ve only ever done for others, and only want to do for other people!
If you have your own business, what made you decide to go for it?
My copywriting business was just a convenience thing, I was asked to do some writing work while I had a full time job in horticulture and, as I was an apprentice on a low wage, it was a great way to boost my income.
What are some pros and cons of working for yourself?
Pros are that you don’t have to rely on anyone else and the cons are that it’s all on you!
What did you think you wanted to do career-wise when you were a teenager?
I always wanted to do events management and go to cool parties and be around snazzy people. I actually ended up doing that, and while it was fun, I’ve grown since then and settled on a love of all things natural and photosynthetic, rather than cheap white wine and PowerPoint presentations.
Do you like to listen to music while working? If so, what are your jams?
Oh yes I do! Anything that is poppy and embarrassing to be caught listening to, I was listening to Kehlani’s latest album the other day and my boss came in and said it sounded like a disco in my potting shed (LOL what a dad, a “disco” haha). I also like to listen to musicals and have people come in just as I’m belting out some terrible high note and also audiobooks. At the moment it’s Tim Winton’s landscape memoir “Island Home” but once I was listening to a Stephen King novel and a colleague I didn’t know well at all walked in while a graphic rape scene was being described and it was QUITE uncomfortable.
How has quarantine/the pandemic affected your job/career?
As a government department, we were considered front line, so I never stopped working at work. However, it was very quiet with it being literally illegal to travel here for a period of a few weeks and no public could legally get to the gardens.
Are most of your friends from your current industry? If yes/no why do you think this is?
Nope! My friends are from all over, mum friends, old friends, old work or school friends… I’m very close friends with a few people at work but most aren’t from here. Probably because a lot of the industry is older men as well, and maybe we don’t have a heap in common?
What would be your last meal?
A dozen oysters to stark, steak tartare and thin fries, sticky date pudding with toffee sauce and a nice glass of pinot noir. And who am I kidding, a six pack of passionfruit UDLs and some sour candy.