The tools of the trade have changed from a scythe to motorised mowers that can cut huge areas of grass and weeds in an hour.

I spoke to Jim Park, 59, head of horticultural services at Preston Council, who is about to hang up his secateurs, and Andrew Millward, 28, who is training to follow in his footsteps.

Ben Robinson: When thinking of careers, working in horticulture is perhaps not an area that immediately springs to mind. How and why did you get into it?

Jim Park (JP): "When I was 17 I drove a wagon, then I saw an advert in the evening paper for a groundsman at a school. I had watched them when I was at school and I thought it looked a good job.

"I almost just fell into it, I just kept my eye out for work.

"For a year I thought I would not keep it going and get another job but I realised I got a lot of job satisfaction.

"Some of the schools I worked on, when I go past, I can still see trees I planted.

"After nine years I got promoted to head groundsman and I was in charge of 14 people, then in the 1980s I was charged with bringing in competitive tendering and I took a business degree in 1989 at the University of Central Lancashire – that took some doing."

Andrew Millward (AM): "I came on work experience in the garden department and I like working outside and my dad got me into it. He really likes doing his own gardening.

"I did an apprenticeship and I have completed the NVQ one and two and I am going to do NVQ three in amenity horticulture which will allow me to move up the ladder as it is a supervisor course."

For the full feature see Thursday's Lancashire Eveing Post.

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