Ken White

Horticulture has been in my blood since a very early age, although, as a career, I only got involved in my mid-20s. My first job was at Bristol Zoo, where I worked on an estate that they owned, growing the vegetables for animal feed and bedding plants for the annuals bed at the Zoo. I attended college one day a week studying for what was in those days the old City & Guilds qualification.

I then moved on in my studies, completing the Advanced National Certificate in Horticulture at Cannington College in Somerset. During this period, my interest in horticulture blossomed (pun absolutely intended!) thanks to a few outstanding lecturers at the College, who suggested that my next move should be to the National Botanic Gardens. I went on to study at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh for 3 years and then later I studied at Kew Gardens.

I joined Frosts in 2004, as Operations Manager for the Commercial Landscaping division. In those days, the company was a lot smaller. At that time we were working hard to expand our place in the commercial sector. I became Construction Director in 2010 and then Managing Director 2 years later in 2012, following the successful completion of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The buck stops with me! I am ultimately responsible for the day-to-day running of the Company, supported by Adrian and Fred. My role is attending to the “bigger picture”, which makes me responsible for the strategic direction or directions of the Company. My style is to operate an open-door policy and I would like to think that I am approachable, even if I don’t suffer fools gladly.

The Frosts name has been synonymous with horticulture since 1946 and with Landscape Construction for 40 years. And whilst the Frosts family is no longer involved in Frosts Landscapes since the management buyout in July 2018, I feel duty-bound to ensure that such a prominent and prestigious name in the industry remains one of the most well-respected in its field.

In terms of legacy, we have made our mark against a number of key historical landscaping projects, such as the Olympic Park, Jubilee Gardens and the Magic Garden at Hampton Court. But the real legacy for me comes from the development of our staff. If any of our staff ever become available, they are immediately snapped up by other companies, which is testament to the focus we place on staff development and the quality of the staff training we give.

First and foremost, what stands out about Frosts is our “Why?” We are in business because we have a genuine passion for landscaping; we are here to assist our clients in making their visions a reality. We approach our work firstly and most importantly, by making it our business to understand the key drivers for all of the project stakeholders. We have a can-do attitude, and whilst I’m not a fan of the saying “we think outside of the box”, we actually do this all the time to come up with innovative solutions to challenges.

I believe in the untapped potential of people and their inherent ability to succeed and achieve more than they believe is possible. Many of our highly-skilled management staff have been developed in-house. They’ve moved through the ranks into positions that they may not have believed they would attain. This is because we invest our faith and belief in them.

I also believe strongly in paying it forward and making a difference to the communities that we interact with.

It matters that we are known as a quality company that delivers outstanding landscape schemes and this is borne out by over 80 BALI awards to date. We also have fun at work, but it’s definitely not for the faint-hearted! We say it as we see it, and there is nowhere to hide.

I am inspired to be the best version of me that I can be and then inspire others to be the best version of us. A team is made up of outstanding individuals. I know that if we get the individual bit right, then the team bit becomes so much easier. I love the saying “do something today that your future self will thank you for.” People that make a difference, in whatever their field of expertise, is something that inspires me.

Wow! There are probably too many plants that I love: after all, that’s my thing. If I had to narrow it down a bit then Brownea garndiceps, the Rose of Venezuela, is an outstanding tree with the most amazing flowers, along with Strongylodon macrobotrys, the Jade Vine from the Philippines, which has got to be up there for its sheer beauty.

When I am not working with Sarah on Supershoes, or watching my youngest daughter play football, then I like to play golf. We also have a Hungarian Vizsla, and for those of you who know this breed of dog, you will also know they don’t give you a lot of spare time!

The boy can build a spreadsheet!! He has a great eye for detail, and is meticulous and methodical in his approach to estimating. He’s a numbers man, but a great deal of fun to work with; he is passionate about horticulture and one of life’s good guys.

Uncle Fred has a language all of his own! Many of his turns of phrase have now become part of the language of Frosts. A great laugh, very skilled at what he does, I often refer to him as an inert gas that fills all available space. He is a completer finisher and a complete nutter.