FIRST PERSON

JENNIFER STACKHOUSE GARDEN WRITER AND EDITOR

I am happiest when … I am in my garden picking flowers. You wouldn’t know it but … I came close to training as a nurse. My most embarrassing moment … is not recognising people I know well or forgetting their names as I am about to introduce them. When I was editor of Burke’s Backyard magazine, I once called Don Burke “Dad” by mistake. The last time I cried was … probably yesterday. I cry often, especially when someone is kind or while reading a book. The last book I read was … Georgiana Molloy: The Mind That Shines, by Bernice Barry. It’s a fascinating biography of the plant collector and botanist, who lived in Western Australia in the early 19th century. My favourite film is … Shrek. I really want to … climb Mt Roland. I look at it every day. My guilty pleasure is … lying on the sofa in our conservatory, reading a book and looking out at the garden. Life has taught me … there’s always a solution and it’s good to have a plan B. I’m about to … lead a tour to the gardens of Japan with Renaissance Tours.

TasWeekend columnist Jennifer Stackhouse is appearing at the Blooming Tasmania Flower & Garden Festival. She will be one of the gardening experts manning the Q&A stand. You can also catch her talks on “Recipes for success” from 10.45-11.45am today and “Gardening to make the world a better place” from 2-3pm tomorrow. The festival runs 9am-5pm today and 9am-4pm tomorrow at Albert Hall in Launceston. For more information, visit bloomingtasmania.com.au