Small Talk with garden designer, broadcaster and horticulturist – Peter Dowdall

Garden designer, broadcaster and horticulturist – Peter Dowdall

"Horticulture has an important role to play in mental health, physical health, food production, climate change mitigation and biodiversity loss" - Peter Dowdall talks about greatest opportunities facing the industry today

Horticulture

2 July 2026

In association with Gardenworld Nurseries

At Growtrade, we’re running an interview series titled ‘Small Talk’, where we talk to various influential members of Ireland’s horticulture trade.

This week’s conversation is with garden designer, broadcaster and horticulturist – Peter Dowdall.

How did you first get involved in the horticulture sector?

I got started in the horticultural sector because I had a love of gardening from a very young age, and the older I got, the deeper my interest became. When I finished school in Ireland, I went to college in the UK and completed my formal horticulture training at Merrist Wood College.

From there, I moved back to Ireland and got a job in a garden centre in Cork. Even before I left school, I had a summer job in a place called Regional Nurseries in Dundrum in Dublin, which I think has since become either a housing estate or part of the Dundrum Shopping Centre car park.

What was one of the proudest moments in your career to date?

One of the proudest aspects of my career in recent years has been the development of The Irish Gardener brand and range. That has now started with the launch of the first two products, The Irish Gardener NutriChar and The Irish Gardener Lush Lawns, but the longer-term aim is to continue developing a wider range of ecologically sound and sustainably produced gardening products for the Irish garden centre industry.

Much of the range will be built around my soil-first philosophy, which I am deeply passionate about, while also expanding into areas such as bulbs, seeds and wildlife products. Where possible, the products will be sustainably produced and Irish made. It is something I am very excited about because it combines horticulture, sustainability and practical gardening in a very real way.

What was one of the greatest challenges you’ve faced in your career to date?

Without question, the greatest challenge I faced in my career was back in 2012. I had set up and run Dunsland Garden Centre in Cork for 15 years, but the business closed and had to go into liquidation. That was extremely difficult. First of all, it had been my dream all my life to own and run a garden centre in my home place, and suddenly that was gone. It was also personally difficult having to go from running my own business to working in a garden centre again.

Strangely though, in hindsight, that period was also very beneficial. I no longer carried the pressures of managing a business and instead got to enjoy the parts of horticulture I loved most. It also illustrated very clearly one of the major downsides within our sector, which is that horticulture is often poorly paid and undervalued. That is something that still needs to be addressed on an industry level.

Could you give us an example of a recent success you had in your work?

A recent success in my work has been the launch of The Irish Gardener NutriChar. It is a plant food I developed with Humus Soil, and I am incredibly proud to finally see the label on the bucket sitting in stores. It has been the culmination of several years of working with soil scientists and soil experts to create what I believe is a brilliant soil-first plant food for the Irish market.

The product is essentially biochar composted with organic poultry manure. The patented technology ties the nutrients of the composted manure to the biochar, meaning the benefits compound over time rather than leach away through the soil. In effect, we are creating a circular product where two materials that might otherwise be considered waste become something genuinely valuable for long-term garden and soil health.

What are the greatest challenges facing the industry today?

There are many challenges facing the industry today, not least the fact that horticulture remains poorly paid and undervalued. It is increasingly difficult to attract good people into the industry when you compare salaries in garden centres or landscape work, which is physically demanding, with salaries available in much less demanding sectors, such as supermarkets or multinational companies.

I also believe the industry is not represented strongly enough at either national or government level. That is meant as no disrespect to Bord Bia, who I have no doubt do the best they can, but their main remit is naturally the far larger food industry within Ireland. Horticulture can sometimes feel like a smaller add-on sector within that structure.

Independent garden centres are also under enormous pressure competing against multinational and multi-store operations, and that creates further challenges for the industry as a whole.

What are the greatest opportunities facing the industry today?

One of the greatest opportunities facing horticulture today is that it is uniquely positioned to help address many of the biggest challenges facing modern society.

Horticulture has an important role to play in mental health, physical health, food production, climate change mitigation and biodiversity loss. Gardens and green spaces are no longer simply decorative spaces. Increasingly, they are essential parts of healthier and more sustainable communities.

I believe the industry has a huge opportunity to position itself not simply as a retail or production sector, but as part of the wider solution to some of the most important environmental and societal challenges of our time.

What advice would you give to someone just starting their career?

Make sure you genuinely love whichever area of horticulture you are intending to build a career in, because that will ultimately be the greatest benefit of working within the industry.

Horticulture can be physically demanding and, at times, financially challenging, but if you truly enjoy the work, there is enormous satisfaction in spending your days doing something you genuinely care about and believe in.

What are your hopes for the future of Irish horticulture?

My hope for the future of Irish horticulture is that it receives the recognition and development support it deserves from government and wider society.

Horticulture is exceptionally well placed to help address challenges including mental health, physical wellbeing, food production, climate change and species extinction. The horticultural industry and the wider green environment can offer meaningful solutions to many of these issues.

My real hope is that horticulture begins to be viewed not simply as a small collection of businesses growing plants, flowers and vegetables, but as a serious industry capable of playing an important role in shaping a healthier and more sustainable future. With proper support, investment and development, Ireland could be extremely well placed internationally in this area.

Small Talk is produced in association with Gardenworld Nurseries, one of the country’s leading wholesale plant nurseries, specialising in high-quality specimen trees, hedging, shrubs, and perennials.

Read more: Small Talk