‘I’d settle for being a tulip!’
The first plant I ever grew
My grandmother bought me seeds of radish ‘French Breakfast’ from a local garden shop. It was the familiar story. I was fascinated by how quickly and magically they germinated and I was hooked. Soon I was trying carrots, beetroot, lettuce and peas.
The plant that shaped the gardener I am today
Definitely sweet peas. When I joined seed firm Unwins in 1987, commercial director David Kerley had recently taken over breeding them from Charles
Unwin, and soon the company was introducing wonderful new
varieties, such as ‘Daphne’, ‘Gwendoline’, ‘Jilly’ and ‘Champagne Bubbles’. Charles’ office was still just as he had left it, as though he would soon be back from viewing his sweet peas. I began to appreciate how important a sense of history is when considering plants and their development.
My favourite plant in the world
As it’s the first flower in our garden every year, the delicate beauty of snowdrops always amazes me. Our predominantly white collie dog is called Lili wen fach, which is Welsh for ‘snowdrop’.
The plant that changed my life
Mesembryanthemum, or ice plant. I saw these beautiful little flowers for the first time when visiting Dutch trial grounds in the early 1980s, and was spellbound. Until then I’d mainly grown vegetables, but these made me realise how wonderful annual flowers are.
The plant that’s made me work hardest
Ivy! It seems a never-ending battle to remove it from the base of our privet hedge. And when I see it growing on trees in the wild I want to take a saw to it and help the trees have a better life!
The plant I’d love to grow more
I’m fascinated by onions and how they develop. It’s not difficult to grow large, fairly heavy bulbs with only a little care and attention. What’s important is to start with a heavyweight strain such as ‘The Kelsae’ or ‘Robinson’s Mammoth’ if you want to grow a really big one.
The plant I am in human form
My wife answered without hesitation: ‘Something prickly, like a cactus or thistle’. When I
said something silly to an Irish friend, he would remark: ‘You’re some tulip’, so I’d settle for being a tulip, which I grow and enjoy more every year.
The plant I’d always give away as a gift
Primulas, especially wild primroses and cowslips, grown from seed harvested from cultivated plants. Pretty as a picture and as tough as old boots, they take some beating.