 According to "Hortus Veitchii", he ""inherited from his father a taste for Natural History and outdoor pursuits, which later took the form of a love of gardening"".At 12 years old, he left school and started work in the gardens of the Marquess of Winchester at Amport House; the house had been rebuilt in 1857, and the gardens were being re-modelled.He then moved to Wilton Park Gardens, at Beaconsfield where he stayed for four years, rising to the rank of departmental foreman.