“Believe in yourself . . . it’s important not to waver in your dreams.” Diarmuid Gavin, Award Winning Garden Designer

Diarmuid Gavin started his career in a kitchen as a commis Chef. He left the kitchen for a job in a plant shop in Dublin. It was there that he discovered his love for plants and horticulture. He went on to study an apprenticeship in the Botanic Gardens in horticulture. Diarmuid is now an award-winning garden designer well known in the UK and Ireland. His success highlights the value of the alternative routes to college.

Here’s his advice on how to get started or to people who want a career in the same field: “Nothing comes easily.  The gardening industry is a tough one but it’s a passionate one. There’s a danger that people see gardeners on television achieving a degree of fame or fortune and believe those results are something to aspire to. If you love gardening and are imagining a career in it, show what you can do. Demonstrate your abilities either at home, in friends’ gardens, through gardening clubs in school or by seeking work in garden centres or with landscape contractors during the holiday periods. If nobody will give you a paid role, offer to work for free. Put everything into it, make yourself indispensible. Understand what it is you love about the subject and identify a role that is suitable to that. Then be the best at what you can be.”

Diarmuid’s motto is, “believe in yourself . . . it’s important not to waver in your dreams.”

Diarmuid’s interview is featured in Career Coach – a step-by-step guide to help your teen find their life’s purpose by Dearbhla Kelly, published by Gill and Co. Career Coach is available in all leading bookstores and on Amazon.