A green-fingered expert, whose job has taken him across the globe over almost three decades, has returned closer to home for his latest horticultural calling.

Self-confessed “plantaholic” Tim Marshall is just settling into his new role as head gardener at Raby Castle, in County Durham, where he will oversee the transformation of the walled garden and grounds of the 55,000-acre site, near Staindrop.

But he plans to also tap into the expertise of other high-profile garden designers as well as his team of gardeners at Raby to ensure The Rising, as the project is known, blossoms.

Brought up in West Yorkshire, and having worked for many years at Scampton Hall, North Yorkshire, he feels he is back on familiar terrain.

Despite the recent heatwave, weather-wise he feels more comfortable about the general climes in which he will be working.

“It’s not only a familiar landscape but weather that I absolutely love.

“Rain suits me down to the ground after being in tropical and middle eastern heat for several years.

“I must admit that I’ve missed it.”

Read more: Raby Castle's plans for seating area during construction works

He is no stranger to working on the estates of historic houses, as, apart from Scampston Hall, he has enjoyed stints at the Daylesford Estate in Oxfordshire and Holkham Estate in North Norfolk, where he was landscape and forestry manager.

Further afield, he has also worked for the King and Queen of Jordan, including at their palace in the foothills of a Caribbean mountain-side.

His new role at Raby, working closely with estate owners Lord and Lady Barnard, will see him managing the two-year project to transform the area north of the castle, outside the paywall.

It will involve landscaping around the new and renovated buildings as well as managing the complete redesign of the historic Walled Gardens, working with established garden designers Luciano Giubbilei and Richmond-based consultant Alistair Baldwin.

He will also have a prominent position in the ongoing establishment and enrichment of a complex garden scheme, which will welcome thousands of visitors each year.

“Getting stuck into the exciting new developments and seeing the site transform into an inspirational tourist attraction for County Durham and the North East is what I’m looking forward to most about this new role.

“I am a self-confessed plantaholic so working with such inspirational garden designers as Luciano and Alistair as well as bringing some of my own passion and knowledge of planting to the Estate is going to be a fantastic project for me,” said Tim.

Lady Barnard, herself creative director at the castle, said: “Tim has had a glittering career as a head gardener which has taken him to far flung places, working in all sorts of terrains.

“His knowledge of plants is just incredible, and we know he will do a fantastic job as we begin our important renovation scheme at Raby Castle.”

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