In conversation with Solène Dequiret

“Being a botanical horticulturist is a multifaceted career…It involves working with both plants and people, where one can care for ex-situ and/or in-situ conservation of various plant species, some of which are extremely rare.”

- Solène Dequiret

Image: Solène Dequiret, RBG Kew Gardens

Solène Dequiret is a Botanical Horticulturist. She is passionate about creating engaging glasshouse plant displays to translate Kew Gardens’ conservation work for visitors to wonder, fusing science, art and nature.  

Can you tell us about your background, and how you became a Botanical Horticulturist?

I have always been a garden lover. I started studying landscape architecture in France after my A levels. I got more passionate about plants and their diversity during two internships in gardens in the UK. First at Glyndebourne and then Trebah Garden in Cornwall. I therefore decided to pursue this interest by joining Kew Gardens as an intern 10 years ago. The world of botany and plant science opened to me and I was hooked! I enrolled as a trainee at Kew Gardens for a year to gain gardening work experience. I then completed the three-year Kew Diploma, an in-depth course studying the broad subjects of botanical horticulture and working across every part of the gardens. After I graduated, I worked in Kew’s Palm House and Waterlily House for four years before recently becoming the supervisor of the Princess of Wales Conservatory.

According to you, what does it mean to be a Botanical Horticulturist today?

Being a botanical horticulturist is a multifaceted career, involving education, conservation, scientific research, design, and more. It involves practical skills as well as theoretical understanding and academic work. It involves working with both plants and people, where one can care for ex-situ and/or in-situ conservation of various plant species, some of which are extremely rare. Today it is estimated that two in five plants species is at risk of extinction.

Have any past or present Botanical horticulturists influenced or inspired you?

My colleagues past and present. Botanical horticulture and the Kew Diploma in horticulture regroup a wide range of people with varied backgrounds, experience, and knowledge, all sharing the same passion for plant diversity.

Kew Gardens is widely known for its impressive annual Orchid Festival. Can you tell us a bit about how the 2023 Orchid Festival came together?

This year is the 27th Orchid Festival, a special celebration of colourful plant displays to cheer up the gloomy dark wintertime! In June we agree a theme and we start brainstorming ideas, researching and drafting designs. By August we hope to have the design finalised and we start the plant selection. We research plants within our collection that can be showcased and nurtured for good growth and flowering. Ordering plants and materials, commissioning a metal work artist, scheduling the build and writing the interpretation for visitors is done in November. January is action! We start building the floral animals in the first week and the first delivery of plants arrives in the second week- the festival is in itself built in just three weeks. We always choose a country to theme the displays around, and it’s always a pleasure to showcase the beauty, biodiversity, and richness of that country. This year we are focusing on Cameroon, highlighting Kew’s partnerships there and the collaborative research work which Kew scientists are involved with. We use an array of Phalaenopsis and Bromeliads to create the displays, and we also have a good collection of Cymbidium orchids which reliably flower at this time of the year so are perfect for the festival. In the two orchids zone we have in the glasshouse we are able to showcase a selection of rare Orchid species which can be found in Cameroon and Africa more broadly- some of these are so threatened that only a handful of people know where they grow in the wild.

Image: RBG Kew

What has been the most rewarding aspects of your career?

Creating plant displays which people enjoy and can connect to. Caring for the Waterlily House annual display which one year hosted the art of Chihuly- that was very special. Taking part in the replanting of Kew’s Temperate House after a mammoth 5 year restoration project. Designing this year’s Orchid Festival and directing the build for the first time. Being part of Kew Gardens and lucky enough to call its magnificent glasshouses my office.

What is the most challenging aspect of your work?

Growing a wide variety of plants with specific requirements can be challenging but thrilling at the same time. Translating every plant story to the public. Physical work in challenging temperatures - in the summer working in a tropical glasshouse can be quite intense!

What’s been the biggest lesson – about yourself, your abilities or just general life lessons throughout your career?  

Always learning from everything and everyone, being adaptable, managing people and plants. Being consistently amazed and surprised at the diversity of plants which exist in the natural world.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Believe in yourself!

What advice would you give to someone aspiring to become a Botanical Horticulturist?  

Observe- nature teaches us best.

Who is Solène Dequiret outside the ‘office’?

I am a young mother who loves art, knitting, drawing, dancing, food, family, walking and the countryside!

Twitter: Solene Dequiret

Kew Gardens’ much-loved Orchid Festival is on until Sunday 5 March 2023. Click here for more.