As a horticulturist at RHS Garden Bridgewater, Ryan is helping to manage and develop areas within the garden\u2019s many woodland spaces. Read our interview with him below. Portrait Jason Ingram. <\/p>

Horticultural hero<\/strong> My grandad was the first person I remember being obsessed with gardening. His unbounded enthusiasm is what I aim to embody in my own work.<\/p>\n

Look after your soil and your soil will look after everything else. <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
Dream plant destination<\/strong> I\u2019ve always wanted to visit the Garden of Ninfa in Italy. The history and ethos of the garden are really interesting and I love the idea of nature regaining control over man-made structures but in a carefully gardened and romantic<\/a> way.<\/p>\n
Favourite planting style<\/strong> I\u2019m drawn to styles that evoke natural landscapes and offer a chance for wildlife to thrive. Woodland-style<\/a> plantings resonate with me. Plants that thrive in shade<\/a> have a wonderfully subtle interest that I appreciate more than the boldness of sun-loving plants.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m drawn to styles that evoke natural landscapes and offer a chance for wildlife to thrive. <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
Biggest challenge for gardeners<\/strong> The unpredictability of weather. Last summer we recorded the hottest temperatures ever<\/a> in the UK and had one of the driest summers on record. Whereas the previous year we had one of the wettest summers on record. This unpredictability is going to affect our plant and crop choices; we need plants that are robust enough to cope with these changes.<\/p>\n

Unpredictability is going to affect our plant and crop choices. <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
Horticultural principles<\/strong> Working with nature and not against it. Gardening with the earth and wildlife in mind. Our gardens act as green corridors that are as important for insects, birds<\/a> and mammals as they are for us to enjoy.<\/p>\n
One easy, sustainable thing we can do<\/strong> Water is the driving force of all nature, so collect rainwater<\/a> with diverters and water butts<\/a>. Re-use grey water in the garden where possible as long as it is not contaminated with strong chemicals. Implement a rain garden to collect storm water and prevent run-off. Add a small pond<\/a>, and watch wildlife explode in your garden, and use organic mulches<\/a>, such as compost or bark, in the garden to prevent the soil drying out too quickly.<\/p>\n
Your next big project at Bridgewater<\/strong> The Scholar\u2019s Garden at the centre of the Chinese Streamside Garden. There will be traditional Chinese pavilions and a pond, as well as an extensive Anglo-Chinese planting palette. The project is still in the planning phase but it\u2019s one I am definitely looking forward to.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a horticulturist at RHS Garden Bridgewater, Ryan is helping to manage and develop areas within the garden\u2019s many woodland spaces. Read our interview with him below. Portrait Jason Ingram. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":19806,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/ryan-healey-on-life-as-a-horticulturist-at-rhs-garden-bridgewater-scaled.jpg",1918,2560,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/ryan-healey-on-life-as-a-horticulturist-at-rhs-garden-bridgewater-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/ryan-healey-on-life-as-a-horticulturist-at-rhs-garden-bridgewater-225x300.jpg",225,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/ryan-healey-on-life-as-a-horticulturist-at-rhs-garden-bridgewater-768x1025.jpg",768,1025,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/ryan-healey-on-life-as-a-horticulturist-at-rhs-garden-bridgewater-767x1024.jpg",767,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/ryan-healey-on-life-as-a-horticulturist-at-rhs-garden-bridgewater-1151x1536.jpg",1151,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/ryan-healey-on-life-as-a-horticulturist-at-rhs-garden-bridgewater-1535x2048.jpg",1535,2048,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"As a horticulturist at RHS Garden Bridgewater, Ryan is helping to manage and develop areas within the garden\u2019s many woodland spaces. Read our interview with him below. Portrait Jason Ingram.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/19805"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}