Gordon Mackay
Instructor
Background:
I started apprenticing in horticulture with my father and Uncle the early 1980's, installing and maintaining urban gardens in the City of Glasgow. I was also fortunate enough to work for Scotland's largest garden centre at that time, in the tree and shrub department, which only truly cemented my desire to work with plants. I decided to enroll in the 2 year diploma program at Threave School of Gardening in southwest Scotland, following in my fathers footsteps. Under the tutelage of renowned Head Garden Magnus Ramsay (a massive inspiration for me), I was particularly enamoured with taxonomy, plant identification, propagation and nursery production; this led me into the 3 year diploma program at Pershore College of Horticulture in England. In order to satisfy my love for plants, I work part-time at a local garden centre. Beekeeping has become an obsession and shows no sign of loosening it's grip! Arboriculture is a huge part of my life and have worked hard to develop a niche in fruit tree pruning.
PHC Courses Taught:
Guest Speaker for Special Topics In Horticulture- Apiculture, Fruit Tree Culture and Tree Hazards and Biomechanics; Level 1 and 2 Pruning, Level 3 Softscape, Level 1, 2, 3 and 4 Plant ID.
Education:
Threave Diploma in Horticulture – Threave School of Gardening (2 years)
Royal Horticulture Society Certificate in Horticulture
National Diploma in Horticulture (Hardy Nursery Stock Production) - Pershore College of Horticulture (3 years)
Business Name:
Alba Plants (specialising in arboriculture)
Inspiration:
Anything arboriculture related by David Lonsdale, Peter Thomas Claus Mattheck and, it goes without saying; the guru himself, Alex Shigo. I continue to gain huge inspiration from my father, who still runs his own arboriculture consulting practice in Glasgow. Working with honey bees continues to be an amazing journey; they’re incredible teachers!
