My Life in Plants
The first plant I ever grew
When I was about eight, my mother gave me a small veg plot to cultivate. My biggest success was a crop of spring onions, which were so plentiful that I sold the excess to the local greengrocer. I also remember pruning climbing roses in that garden, and have enjoyed pruning and training plants on walls ever since.
The plant that shaped the man I am today
When I was thinking of horticulture as a career I started visiting botanic and heritage gardens. The plants that amazed me most, and convinced me that a career in horticulture was for me, were taxa such as Dicksonia antarctica, Clianthus puniceus and Trachycarpus fortunei, growing outside at Logan Botanic Garden. I had no idea that these sorts of plant could be grown outdoors in Britain.
My favourite plant in the world
I was born and brought up in Kenya and the plant I remember most, and which fascinates me to this day, is the charismatic baobab ( Adansonia digitata). My favourite group of plants for growing at home are leafy, textured, herbaceous plants such as darmera, rodgersia, hosta, ferns and ligularia.
A plant that changed my life
As a member of staff at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh I was able to take part in fieldwork trips and I particularly enjoyed seeing strange-looking plants growing in their natural environment, plants such as
Welwitschia mirabilis in Namibia and Araucaria araucana in Chile. Realising that many were threatened convinced me that horticulture and botanic gardens have an important role in conservation and this is what I’ve dedicated my career to.
The plant that made me work hardest
The vine in my conservatory has taken more than 15 years to train around the eaves and up each astragal. It also supports a healthy population of mealy bugs and has a virus, but it fruits well, producing more than 100 bunches each year.
The plant I am in human form
A meconopsis because I can live happily in cool, damp conditions if I’m well fed!
The plant I would love to grow more of
Agapanthus as they look exotic, flower when the rest of the garden is starting to look overblown, and come in a variety of sizes and shades of blue and white.
The plant I would always give away as a gift
Regal pelargoniums, because I propagate lots of them in my conservatory every year. They flower for months and make very nice gifts.