Getting Personal with Phil Cormie
Phil Cormie - a good barbie and some classic rock would fit the bill!
Who are you? Phil Cormie, Head Gardener at Newby Hall.
Family status? Married to Gabrielle with a very energetic 2-year-old son.
Who's your hero and why? Hero is a strong term. One of my early influences was my dad, who has a real love for gardening and growing veg on the allotment. Nowadays, I'm influenced by people like Fergus Garrett, Noel Kingsbury and Dave Goulson who are trying make our gardens and horticulture techniques more ecologically friendly.
What's your guilty pleasure? Good cheese board with a bottle of wine.
What's been the highlight of your career so far? The past eighteen months leading the team here at Newby Hall.
What are your pet peeves? A messy workshop.
What's the best part of your job? Interacting with the general public and working in a beautiful setting.
… and the worst? Seasonal flooding in the garden; being next to the River Ure, it floods multiple times during the winter months leaving much debris behind.
Do you have a lifetime ambition? To play number 8 for the upcoming Lion's tour of South Africa.
What's your favourite sport? Rugby and football.
Which three albums would you take to a desert island? Led Zeppelin IV (Led Zeppelin), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (David Bowie) and Rumours (Fleetwood Mac).
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Buy a 1950's VW split screen campervan.
What would you consign to Room 101 and why? Dog owners who don't pick up after their animals...not nice when you're strimming!
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? Fergus Garrett, Sir Bobby Robson and Sir David Attenborough (an eclectic mix I admit).
Do you have any bad habits? My wife will say leaving my work boots in the middle of the kitchen floor!
Do you go to bed worrying about the next day's workload? No … what can be done will be done and you can't do any more.
What is your favourite film? Lord of The Rings is hard to beat.
What's the best advice you have ever been given? From a previous head gardener I trained under ... to get a garden looking immaculate you have to do all the small things right. It's all about the small details, much of which is overlooked and unseen by the general public, but these small things make all the difference.
What's your favourite smell? A good barbecue on a summer's day.
What do you do in your spare time? Garden … the classic gardener's response.
What's the daftest work-related question you have ever been asked? Some members of the general public assume the gardens look after themselves in the winter months and the gardeners have a long holiday from November until April.
What's your favourite piece of kit? Stihl MSA161 top handled arborist chainsaw.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Ambitious, hard-working, Geordie.
What talent would you like to have? Ballet dancer just like Billy Elliot.