Formed in 1899 as the Women’s Farm and Garden Association, a registered Charity, twe are now known as Working for Gardeners.  Our original aims, aspirations and objectives continue to underpin the activities of the Association in the 21st century.

The aims of the charity are:

• To network and unite all those who work in horticulture and allied industries.
• To promote, encourage and establish the opportunities to study and practice within the horticultural profession.
• Membership offers help and advice, through networking, seminars and Working for Gardeners publications.

In 1993 the Association, having identified a need for a training scheme for older students – as none existed elsewhere – established the ‘Women Returners to Amenity Gardening Scheme’. Designed to offer ‘returners’ who were considering a career in horticulture, training in practical gardening skills, within private and public gardens throughout the United Kingdom.

Since that first pilot scheme, WRAGS has enjoyed great success – and is now established as one of the leading training schemes, highly respected by the horticultural sector. In 2014 the name was changed to reflect the change in the type of applicants applying – Work and Retrain As a Gardener Scheme.

The scheme continues to grow in popularity and consequently we now have considerable trainee waiting lists in certain areas of the country.