Retail
Carlos Guinand – Nursery Director
Carlos joined Majestic Trees in 2007 after immigrating from Venezuela and now has over 25 years of experience growing vegetables, ornamental foliage, forestry as well as trees. Academically, he holds a five year engineering degree in Agronomy and Crop Science, awarded through the School of Agronomy, Central University of Venezuela, with his thesis receiving recognition at graduation for being most outstanding. Carlos loves life and is passionate about trees and growing the highest quality stock. He is one of the key members of staff who really 'makes it happen', works very hard and is very dedicated to the details that make the difference. whether it be the organisation and the setting out of new stock that is grown-on during the growing season, potting, pruning, spraying, etc., whatever the weather! He takes great pride in a job well done and instils these principles in his team of horticulturists. He holds a PA1&6 license, as well as various heavy equipment licenses, and naturally serves on the company’s Senior Management Committee.
Maria Bengtsson – Pruning & Stock Control Director
Maria joined us in 2011 after moving here from her native Sweden where she worked at the Bergius Botanical Garden. She spent her time there caring for and pruning the large collection of specimen ornamental and fruit trees in this prestigious botanical garden, including the vast collection of Mediterranean plants in the Edvard Anderson Conservatory. After leaving school she studied at university for 5 years to be a physicist, but her love of gardening soon took her back to school to study horticulture for 2 years. She graduated with a Diploma in advanced pruning from the Swedish Horticultural Society, and went on to further studies and her RHS Masters in Horticulture with Distinction. Besides spending many months each year pruning and growing our trees, she manages the pruning team and our tree inventory computer system to ensure we always have accurate and reliable information. She is a dedicated and passionate horticulturist who is committed to excellence, nothing is too much trouble, and she thrives on a challenge however great or small. She serves on the company’s Senior Management Committee, where her insights and experience are especially invaluable.
Eliot Barden – Aftercare, Purchasing and Training Director
Eliot is a very knowledgeable horticulturist who joined us in 2018 after completing the prestigious Kew Diploma with Distinction as a skilled nurseryman. Prior to that he completed his Kew Apprenticeship and studied both RHS Level 2 & 3 in Horticulture, all with Distinction. He quickly proved his importance to the team, and has taken on additional responsibility, culminating in him joining our senior management team. In 2022 he was honoured with the UK Young Grower of the Year, and then went on to win the AIPH International Young Grower of the Year in 2023 in Essen, Germany against candidates from around the world. He is a fully qualified pesticide applicator with all the relevant qualifications, and is hard working, driven and committed to excellence. He is involved in all areas of production, and is the lead who manages our AfterCare service and advice to customers, as well as being in charge of our training and apprenticeships, spends weeks each season buyin trees stock alongside Steve and joined the company’s Senior Management Committee in early 2022.
Bruce Houghton – Assistant Nursery Manager
Bruce has been a nurseryman for well over 30 years, and has a real love of growing. He started his career growing vegetables before spending 15 years at Chessum Plants/Langard, and then spent a number of years growing bedding plants before joining us in 2015. He quickly proved is drive and determination to get the job done, and as the nursery grew, be became Carlos’s right hand man to spread the load. Bruce works as a member of the production team, is hardworking, and has a do anything, whatever it takes drive to ensure Majestic Trees continued success. He has various machine tickets, is an able machine operator, and has a PA1, 2 & 10 spraying license.
Richard Pavey -Team Leader/Nurseryman
Richard is an experienced horticulturist with many years’ practical experience, including 11 years tree nursery production experience and also having worked as a private gardener. The combination of Richard’s extensive practical experience, knowledge, energy and genuine enthusiasm for growing have made him a tremendous asset to the nursery team since he joined us in 2019. In fact, he excels at team dynamics, with a nothing is too much to ask me to do attitude, always with high energy and a smile, which combined with his many other skills resulted him being awarded the HTA (Horticultural Trade Association) Staff Person of the Year 2024. He holds a RHS Masters in Horticulture, has various heavy machinery tickets, so you will often find him setting out and moving trees, running teams to ensure maximum productivity. He also spends one week in three pruning as one of Maria’s team, to ensure our trees look the best. He also has a license to spray using our tractor mounted electrostatic sprayer.
Ellen Underwood – Team Leader/Nurserywoman & Peat Free Trials Lead
Ellen joined us in 2021, having completed her BSc in Horticulture at Writtle University. She original found her love of horticulture as she used to assist her father in the care of his primula collection, which he showed at both RHS and other flower shows around the UK. Ellen quickly fit into the team, showing the passion she has for growing, insatiable desire to learn, and willingness to work very hard in all weathers. She leads our ‘Peat Free Trials’ having written our roadmap, provided in depth analysis and studies the results, ensuring that Majestic Trees is on the cutting edge and ready for the future without peat. She also supports Maria with Stock Management and inventory due to her strong analytical skills. However, rather than being office based, you will find usually Ellen running teams either setting out, potting or irrigation . She has a PA1, PA3, PA6 & PA9 pesticide applicators license, along with various heavy machinery tickets.
Matt Stevens - Facilities Maintenance
Matt is the person who maintains the irrigation system, spearheads development of new or refurbished areas, repairs tyres, tools, changes and repairs infrastructure, equipment or golf buggy, etc. He has worked with his hands for over 20 years, and studied and received a City and Guilds distinction in Bricklaying and Construction which he applied in building and facilities maintenance, as well as tree surgery before joining us in 2007. He takes great pride in doing the job right, and is a very practical person with a lot of common sense. He is a valued member of the team, and without him Majestic would struggle to look as good as it does.
Iain Heaslip – Nurseryman/HGV1
Iain joined our team in 2009 and has worked in the nursery business for getting on 30 years, prior to Majestic primarily at a bonsai nursery; talk about the opposite scale in tree sizes! Over the years he has picked up most of his horticultural knowledge on the job, though he has completed his City & Guilds, NVQ2 in Horticulture. These days, he primarily is based on the nursery where he loves to prune, but when duty calls you can still find him delivering and planting trees, as he holds a license for various machinery and of course a HGV1 truck license to drive our 44 ton units.
Sue Boetius – Nurserywoman
Sue first joined Majestic Trees as a horticulturist working on the nursery in 2006, prior to taking a year out in 2009 to live in the States where her husband was working. On her return we were able to persuade her to join our horticultural advice team, were she did a brilliant job for over 6 years, before moving back to the nursery team as she really missed working with trees. She studied at both Capel Manor and Writtle Colleges achieving the RHS General, the Certificate of Higher Education in Horticulture and Design and a Diploma in Garden Design. On leaving college she initially set up her own garden design, landscape construction and garden maintenance business, working mainly on projects in and around Hertfordshire, before joining the Majestic team 17 years ago. Today, you will usually find her working alongside Maria assisting her with the stock control, inventory and labelling of the trees after they are potted.
Thomas Smith – Nurseryman
Thomas joined us in the autumn of 2019 bringing with him eight years of horticulture experience working as a grower at another respected nursery, as a gardener at Cambridge University and in a garden centre. He holds an NVQ level 3 in horticulture and a Higher Education Certificate in Horticulture, as well as PA1 + PA6 licenses, as well as heavy machinery tickets. You will often find him on a pruning platform, high up pruning our specimen trees, which he excels at, which is one of the reasons our tree pruning is so good. Whether he is setting out trees, unloading trucks or doing irrigation, he is hard-working with a passion for growing trees and over the years has proven himself to be a invaluable member of the team, whatever the need may be.
Philip Reeves – Nurseryman
Philip joined us in 2019 from the garden centre trade, and was attracted by the prospect of working solely with specimen trees at Majestic Trees. When Philip was younger he spent a year in New Zealand, which included a lengthy stint at a production nursery. On his return to London he initially resumed his career as a high-end painter and decorator, however, having caught the growing bug, he has decided to change careers. In December 2023, Phil successfully completed his apprenticeship, completing the training with Merit. You will now find him working in teams potting, unloading trucks, doing irrigation, etc where he is hardworking with excellent attention to detail, as he always believes in doing in right or not at all.
Emily Attwood – Nurserywoman
After finishing high school, Emily originally thought that she preferred the outdoor life, so went into the equestrian field, but after 15 months had decided that nursery production was her goal. Emily joined us in January 2023, doing our level 2 apprenticeship which combines both practical and classroom learning. In September 2024, she completed her traineeship at Majestic Trees, obtaining 94% on her written exams, due to her ability to learn all things horticulture, as well as passing a number of machine tickets. Quiet until you get to know her, she has quickly adapted to teamwork, is friendly, diligent and does things right or not at all.
Ali Esmaeilpour - Nursery Worker
Ali joined our team during a busy period in early spring of 2023 as temporary seasonal worker, but such was the high quality of his work, and his growing love of nature and the outdoors, that when he asked could he stay we agreed. 18 months later he has become an integral part of the team, and can turn his hand to most things, whilst always upholding the high standards that make Majestic Trees proud.
