Norton Conyers gardener retires after 26 years

When Giles Gilbey started work at Norton Conyers’ listed 18th century garden, near Ripon, he found that previous generations of owners the Grahams had neglected the site.

“Giles has restored the garden and grounds to an excellent condition, though his budget was always limited and his helpers few,” said a spokesman.

“He has extensively re-designed, preserved and improved the garden and grounds.

“Giles has exploited the garden’s every aspect so that a wide diversity of plants, both beautiful and edible, are thriving there.

“One of his most recent improvements was to create an all-weather visitors’ car park. Such car parks are usually obtrusive but Giles managed to make ours part of the landscape and yet accessible.”

Whilse most of his time has been spent in the garden, Giles has also helped with repairs to the house and contributed towards it winning the Historic Houses/ Sotheby’s 2014 Restoration Award (Country Life, 14th September 2016).

“He has been impressively resourceful and always calm; his invariable reply when faced with any difficulty has been no worries,” added the spokesman.

In a Country Life article about Norton Conyers, which has a connection to author Charlotte Bronte who visited in 1839, Giles was attributed for his expertise, passion for plants and for creating a garden widely admired by professionals and amateurs alike.

The Norton Conyers spokesman added: “He has accomplished this by determination, knowledge, professional skills and immensely hard work.

“Everyone is amazed by the amount he has done during the two days a week he has worked for us.  

“When garden groups visit he has always been willing to give talks and conduct tours.

“Over the last 20 years he has worked closely with the Women’s Farm and Garden Association, training and mentoring many future gardeners on their Work and re-train as a Gardener scheme.

“These trainees have gone on to work in every aspect of British gardening, from heritage gardens to nurseries.

“He is selfless in his sharing of knowledge and offers advice and encouragement from his immense fund of expertise and experience.”

As well as having the respect of many fellow gardeners, Giles has won three Silver Gilts at Chelsea on his own merits and a Gold with others.

He has also created a South African daisy named Osteospermum Giles Gilbey.

“He has also made the garden into a tranquil and harmonious setting, often visited by, among other sufferers, cancer patients receiving treatment,” added the spokesman.

“Whilst we wish him well for his retirement he is going to be greatly missed. Finding his replacement will be very hard indeed, but we welcome approaches from any creative gardener with ambitions to fill those large vacant boots.

Giles recently said: “I have enjoyed every minute at Norton Conyers.”