Before moving into grounds management, Daniel built a long career in the charity sector. Although Daniel grew up on a smallholding in Romania, horticulture was never presented as a viable career path. 

How ill-health reconnected him with nature 

In 2011, Daniel was diagnosed with IBD, triggering years of physical and mental strain. By 2018, at a particularly low point, he found solace in his first allotment. Gardening quickly became a refuge from his illness. 

It took a visit to the Eden Project in 2020 for Daniel to take his hobby to the next step. “Standing there, I had an epiphany. It was crystal clear that horticulture is where I belonged”. 

Daniel began building the foundations of a new career: online horticulture courses, a permaculture design certificate, and volunteer work at Birmingham Botanical Gardens. But without paid experience, breaking into the sector was difficult, especially after major surgery for his IBD that left him with an ileostomy. Whilst applying for roles, he took on self-employed gardening jobs to build experience. Eventually, persistence paid off: he gained a position at Weston Park, and six months later became Head Gardener at Middleton Hall. 

Bringing a mission-led vision to a historic estate 

Daniel described Middleton Hall a “diamond in the rough” – a historically rich, 42-acre landscape that had become underfunded and under-maintained. “We don’t have pristine lawns, or picture-perfect gardens,” he says. “Much of it is grassland rather than lawn. But we’re working towards it.” 

With his charity sector background, Daniel’s instinct is to tie his work to a greater purpose. When Daniel arrived at Middleton Hall, no meaningful connection had been made between the grounds and the site’s history – they hadn’t been presented in a way that was enticing to visitors.  

When he started to uncover stories that reconnected the grounds with their Georgian and Victorian past, he realised the site could be transformed into something far more ambitious. He began articulating a new internal vision: “To become the top horticultural destination in the Midlands.” 

As there aren’t many restrictions on the site, every decision Daniel has made about the grounds – whether it be plant choices or landscape restoration – has been informed by this framework: bringing forward Middleton’s history. This has meant he can work on long-term purpose rather than short term fixes. 

Restoring the Victorian Shrubbery: A Case Study 

One project that exemplifies Daniel’s historically grounded approach is the Victorian shrubbery – once a curated collection of shrubs in varied heights, colours, and textures. 

“When I arrived, the area was unrecognisable,” he says. “Dereliction had let brambles take over, saplings had self-seeded everywhere, and a mass clearance in the 1980s had stripped everything to the ground, but without maintenance, brambles smothered the area over again.” 

Last March, Daniel and the volunteer team began a careful restoration. They cleared the bramble, introduced a wavy path to create a sense of discovery, installed log edging, and began replanting with shrubs and bulbs appropriate to the period. The project continues as a labour of love. 

Volunteers: The Heart of the Operation 

Middleton Hall runs on an exceptional volunteer community. Across the site there are over 100 volunteers, with the garden group the largest and most consistent: 37 people meeting three days a week. They range from retirees to career changers, students, and those seeking confidence or experience.  

Daniel has built partnerships, including one with Birmingham Metropolitan College, where students gain practical horticulture skills in exchange for volunteer hours. 

He operates an open, inclusive, training-led approach. Everything is taught on the job – from pruning techniques to mushroom identification. Work is often done in small teams, with Daniel moving between groups to guide, check progress and support learning. 

He calls them “the best volunteer group I’ve ever worked with.” Their dedication is extraordinary: they turn up in heavy rain, work extra hours, and volunteer until the final week before Christmas. Daniel is clear that the estate’s progress is not his alone: “I wouldn’t be able to do a fraction of this job without them. Everything we’ve achieved is pure teamwork.” 

Achievements under Daniel’s leadership 

Since joining Middleton Hall, Daniel has transformed both the way the gardens operate and the way they are cared for. One of his first priorities was to strengthen training and safety across the volunteer team. He introduced a far more structured, hands-on approach: every volunteer now receives clear guidance on tool use, hazard awareness and horticultural techniques. The result is a confident, capable team who work efficiently and safely, and who feel supported in building new skills. 

Sustainability has been another major focus. Where many estates still manage green waste through burning, Daniel has replaced this with a comprehensive composting system that produces excellent compost, while reducing environmental impact. T hanks to this shift, Middleton Hall has gone almost two years without a horticultural bonfire. 

His approach to biodiversity is equally thoughtful. Rather than discarding woody waste, Daniel turns it into habitat: dead hedges, log piles and micro-ecosystems designed with specific species in mind. Some of these interventions are experimental – like using broadleaf tree logs to create burrowing spaces for beetles – but each one adds to a wildlife-friendly landscape. This habitat-led thinking has become a hallmark of Daniel’s work, and it’s helping to shape the estate into a richer, more resilient environment. 

Recognition: Being Named in the GMA’s 35 Under 35 

In 2025, Daniel was selected as part of the Grounds Management Association’s 35 Under 35, recognising emerging leaders across the grounds sector. For him, the award carries particular significance. 

“Often when people think of grounds management, they think of sports turf – professional pitches, community fields, that sort of thing. I’m the only estate-based gardener on the list this year, and I hope that shows people, especially career changers and those just starting out, that grounds management and horticulture come in many forms. It’s not just a career for people interested in sport – it’s a field of variety, history, science, creativity and purpose.”