A GARDENER who has spent a lifetime working on the country estate where he was born has retired after 52 years.

Dave Marchant was born at Wakehurst in Ardingly in 1948 and said it would be a “a wrench” to leave the place where he has planted more trees than he can count.

After starting his career as a tree pruner and the tractor driver, he took on responsibilities for tending the gardens on the estate, which is managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, after graduating from Kew as a grade one gardener.

He said: “I’ve got no idea how man trees I’ve planted over the years. In one year alone it would have been more than 200.

“There is a real satisfaction in knowing that some of the things I’ve planted, like the Wellingtonias, in 50 years they’ll be 100 feet tall and still there.

“The biggest change I’ve seen is moving from a country garden into a botanical garden and having to plant everything in their rows.

“And then the Millennium Seed Bank came here.

“That’s amazing, it’s got more than ten per cent of the world’s flora in it.”

He said he would miss having a 500-acre estate as his back garden.

Having lived in cottages tied to the estate his entire life, Dave and his wife Jenny are now gearing up for life on a smaller scale having bought a house in Newick.

They will spend more time with their grandchildren, some of who already know the Latin names for dozens of trees and plants from long walks around the Wakehurst grounds.

Dave said: “It’s a wrench, but I’ve seen so many things happen I think it’s time to go and let myself get some time with my family.”

Dave was instrumental in the clear up after the Great Storm of October 1987 when Wakehurst lost 20,000 trees.

He was awarded the MBE, which was presented by Prince Charles, who remembered Dave driving him around Wakehurst when he visited.

The Prince is the patron of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew.

Dave and Jenny were recorded last week for the BBC Radio 4 Listening Project, passing on their tales from a lifetime of living and working at Wakehurst.