During his nearly nine years as Curator RHS Wisley, Pottage has overseen the creation of the Exotic Garden, the Wisteria Walk, the Heather Landscape, a dedicated orchid house and more recently the new rainwater capture Clear Lake on the site of the old trials field. The final project he will oversee, finishing this spring, will be the new Piet Oudolf Landscape.
Pottage studied horticulture at Bishop Burton College near York, before becoming a student at RHS Wisley. He has an RHS Master of Horticulture and became the youngest curator in RHS’ history. As the RHS Wisley curator, Pottage managed a team of 100 staff and approximately 150 volunteers and has made his mark developing the 200 acre garden, which attracts over one million visitors per year.
In 2022, Pottage wrote a book entitled ‘How to Garden When You Rent‘, providing tips for gardening ‘renters’, such as Pottage, whilst keeping the landlord happy.
At the end of May, Pottage will take up the role of Head of Horticulture and Landscape Strategy for The Royal Parks, the charity that cares for the most famous collection of urban parks in the world. The charity has eight Royal Parks in their care, including other public spaces such as the Brompton Cemetery and Victoria Tower Gardens which combined welcome millions of visitors every year.