“I think there's so many ways of gardening that it's not one size fits all. Everybody does it differently. It’s just getting out there and doing it and making mistakes. Because once you start making all those mistakes, you start learning a bit more and a bit more and a bit more, and then basically fall down the rabbit hole and end up like me”. After a twenty-year career as a flight attendant, August Bernstein made a career swerve into horticulture “and since that moment, my whole destiny changed”. From part-time kitchen gardener at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, she is now Head of the Raymond Blanc Gardening School at the luxury hotel and also has a tidy sideline as garden ambassador and content creator. With over 130k followers on Instagram who can’t get enough of her relatable yet inspirational garden (and lifestyle) we wanted to find out…
What makes August
Happy?
When there's a whole bed of weeds, and I literally clear the whole lot. And then I can look back and think I've achieved something. Some people go to the gym, and they get that sense of achievement. For me, clearing a bed of weeds is a workout in itself. And then you've got a blank canvas. While I'm weeding, I'm planning next year's garden, so I suppose it's like hope for the season ahead.
Sad?
At the moment, I'm moving house, and I've spent maybe 10 years creating my garden. I'm leaving a lot – all those plants; they're all like my children. The thought of leaving that does make me really sad. But on the flip side, I'm really looking forward to a new challenge.
Angry?
Netting. When I'm at Le Manoir I design a garden and have this visual image of how it is going to look. And then Sam, who I work with, kindly brings me back down to earth and reminds me that because we have rabbits, pigeons, muntjac and all of these pests, I have to net everything. It really makes me angry because I see this beautiful garden, and then I know I've got to put the veil of doom over everything. I'm like Mr McGregor running around the garden trying to stop everything from eating my vegetables.
Confident
Knowledge. I was an air hostess for 20 years, and I couldn't even pick up the phone to do a PA to say, ‘would the passenger in seat five A make themselves known to the crew’. Now, I can get on stage and talk in front of 200 people, because I'm confident that I know what I'm talking about, and that all stems from studying, knowledge, passion and enthusiasm. If you are genuinely enthusiastic about something, then I think it gives you that confidence.
Excited?
When I find a new vegetable that I've never seen before. I found this Mexican turnip in Mexico – it's not even a turnip, it's actually in the pea family – so I got straight online and ordered the seeds. I'm now on my fourth try of sowing these seeds, and they fail every single time. But the excitement of if I actually ever get to pick this goddamn vegetable is making me keep growing it.
