We created the Cattanach Bursary for horticulturists and gardeners in Scotland to access personal and professional development. We recognise that it’s their skills and experience that ensure the continued care of Scotland’s fine gardens. Therefore, we offer a maximum of £1,500 (typical average grant £550) to individual applicants to pursue their learning journey - about plants, best horticultural practices and effective garden management. This bursary was made possible by the generous bequest of Mr Albert Cattanach, a regular visitor to SGS’s open gardens and funds from the John Fife Award. We hope it helps to continue the strong tradition of horticultural training in Scotland.

Aline Abreu - Cattanach Bursary recipient 2023

”This training has equipped me with a highly valuable skill that I can now apply in the garden and use to propel my career to a senior position.”
Aline Abreu, Horticulturist, NTS Kellie Castle

Eligibility

• Be a horticulturist/gardener aged 16 years and over, living and working in Scotland and/or have a track record of working/training in horticulture in Scotland (full time for a
  minimum of two years; part time for a minimum of four years). Main source of income must be through gardening/
  horticulture (or about to be, for example, soon to qualify or graduate)

• Be unable to afford the project without additional support

• Commit to providing a report on their bursary, including details of the project and how it benefited them

• Successful applicants may re-apply to the fund but should wait three years before their next application.

Please read our guidance notes carefully before submitting your application.

Cattanach Bursary Guidance Notes

  Apply today!

Our 2025 success story!

We gave £5,948 in small grants to professional horticulturists in Scotland in 2025.

We’ve helped people train in therapeutic gardening and herbalism; we’ve helped people gain qualifications in chainsaw use and tree climbing; we’ve helped people achieve RHS horticultural qualifications; and supported others to attend symposia on topics like rewilding and gardening in a changing climate.

Previous Cattanach Bursary recipient case studies:

Tom McFadyen 
Scotland’s Gardens Scheme Cattanach Bursary Holder

Tom McFadyen attended a 6-day tree climbing with rope access and aerial rescue Level 2 in June 2025, receiving funding from Scotland’s Gardens Scheme Cattanach Bursary to pay for half of the fees. 

“I attended a 6-day Tree climbing with rope access and aerial rescue Level 2 in June 2025 with Treevolution in Winchburgh. I was very pleased to have received funding from Scotland's Gardens scheme Cattanach Bursary to pay for half of the fees. 

The course was absolutely brilliant, and I really had to step out of my comfort zone. The training and certificate now qualifies me to access trees safely to check the health status and wildlife function of trees in both gardens and the wider landscape. It is a different world up in the crown of a tree and you really learn to trust the equipment as well as your own body!

I look forward to using this certificate to pursue my professional interests in Horticulture, arboriculture and ecology. Checking trees for bat roosts and birds' nests will be of further interest to me. My place of work was not able to fund this training course so I am very grateful to the volunteers and fund raisers at Scotland's Gardens Scheme who made this possible. 

This course was hands down the most challenging and life affirming thing I have done for a very long time. I would recommend it too anyone looking for a challenge. I'm very happy with these new skills I have gained and look forward to using them throughout my career.”

Fi Halliday 
Scotland’s Gardens Scheme Cattanach Bursary Holder 

The Cattanach Bursary enabled bursary-holder Fi Halliday to attend an intensive plant medicine making course run by the Solidarity Apothecary in Somerset in June 2025. 

“The three day course was attended by 22 people and consisted of both theoretical and practical learning about herbal medicines that can support people experiencing traumatic stress. 

Throughout the weekend, I learned how to make herbal cough syrup, muscle balm, throat lozenges, lavender oil (for sleep support), glycerites and tinctures. As a group we made over 200 medicines that will be taken to the refugee camp in Calais to support people living there. 

It was important for me to attend this course in order to further my skills in a variety of horticultural areas: namely plant identification, herb care and harvesting, herbal preparation methods and correct storage of herbs. Attending this course provided me with invaluable skills in all of these areas that I intend to apply in my current role as a community gardener in Glasgow.”