Become a head gardener and see the world – that could have been a rallying cry in the 19th century, though today’s horticulturists tend to be rather less internationally mobile. That is not true of Andrea Brunsendorf, who in her early forties has already worked in the USA, Austria, France, Germany, South Africa, Botswana, Israel and, of course, the UK, where she is currently head gardener at Lowther Castle in Cumbria. “I think it goes back to my training in Germany,” Andrea explains. “There, when you learn a trade, you spend seven years on Wanderschaft, where you work in different places, sometimes internationally. I always thought there was something in that – this idea of going to different places, being open to influences.”
I always thought there was something in that – this idea of going to different places, being open to influences.
Andrea made a name for herself at the three-acre garden of the Inner Temple, overlooking the Thames in central London. The 76m-long herbaceous border, which she replanted, became renowned in the 2010s, as did the general level of horticulture and the cohesive team of gardeners she nurtured. After 11 years at the garden, she moved on to Pennsylvania in 2018 to take up the post of director of outdoor landscapes at Longwood Gardens. “It was quite a step up, from three acres to 1,100 acres,” she reflects. “After I arrived, the team tripled in size to 35 full-time and 15 to 20 part-time gardeners. I used to walk in the woods at Longwood every day, just to try to get some perspective. Then for a year and a half [during the Covid pandemic] we were in crisis management. We went down to just seven staff on site and no part-timers. I will never forget having to call those people to tell them not to come in.”
In the end, Andrea only spent three years at Longwood; she could have renewed her visa to make it six years, but decided to come back to Europe. “I grew up in East Germany, so not being able to leave a country felt familiar,” she explains. “I like to know I can move across borders.” Andrea’s upbringing in Thuringia was the wellspring of her love of horticulture. Both her parents had demanding jobs and in the school holidays, from an early age, she would spend all her time with her grandparents. They owned an allotment, the maintenance of which they approached with an almost professional zeal. “They had this routine of having breakfast, then grandpa reading the newspaper and grandma doing some housework,” Andrea recalls. “Then at 10am we would leave for the garden and return by 5pm. They approached it almost like a job. In East Germany at that time, if you wanted a more diverse diet, with more fruit, you would have to try to grow it yourself. There was no building, just a big green tool-shed and an awning strung up under a tree.”
In East Germany at that time, if you wanted a more diverse diet, with more fruit, you would have to try to grow it yourself.
Following her horticultural studies in Germany, Andrea went on several internships, including to Kirstenbosch in South Africa (a long-held dream), before going on to take the celebrated three-year diploma at Kew. Her specialism at this time was cacti and succulents, but the Kew course broadened her horizons. “On my second weekend at Kew, I was taken to Great Dixter, where I had lunch with this lovely, funny, elderly man – who was Christopher Lloyd. He was making guacamole. I saw his garden and just assumed that all English gardens were like that. It took me at least a year to realise that that isn’t true.”
I still go weak at the knees when I see a highly maintained herbaceous border.
The English horticultural tradition was to prove irresistible, even if Andrea has also, like so many gardeners in England, assimilated the naturalistic turn in planting style. “I still go weak at the knees when I see a highly maintained herbaceous border,” she says. “I can see all the effort, the skills and the time. It still affects me, despite naturalistic gardening. It’s the craft. I was trying to explain this to a German friend – but she just said, ‘It’s so boring’.” After Longwood, Andrea briefly took a post at a castle garden in the Austrian Alps, but became dissatisfied because it was not enough of a priority for the custodians.
Then the international garden network kicked in: Andrea met up in Salzburg with designer Isabelle van Groeningen, who duly notified Dan Pearson’s office that Andrea might be amenable to a new job. Dan has been working at Lowther Castle for some years and immediately recommended her to Jim Lowther, who is in charge of the garden rejuvenation project. And so, since July 2022, Andrea has been living in the north of England, in a 16th-century cottage, where “my beautiful Danish furniture is a bit of a clash”.
Now we want to make it into one of the great gardens of the north.
Andrea is excited to be working at Lowther, though she says it is quite a challenge, with just five full-time gardeners across 130 acres, and difficult-to-manage horticultural features such as the new rose garden. Her intention is to see the garden develop from being a visitor attraction – “I do shudder at the term” – to a destination garden. Chatsworth has been an inspiration. “Lowther is a garden of great ambition,” she says. “I love being part of that journey. Now we want to make it into one of the great gardens of the north.”
USEFUL INFORMATION Andrea Brunsendorf will be choosing her top seasonal plants from Lowther every month for our 2024 Plantsperson’s Favourites series. Look out for her first ten picks in the March issue by becoming a member of Gardens Illustrated. Find out more about Lowther Castle at lowthercastle.org