My Life in Plants
The first plant I ever grew
I made a small rice paddy in my garden when I was about 10. I thought the process of growing rice was very curious compared to any other plant. I was so excited to see it mature in the autumn, though, just before harvesting, the crop suddenly disappeared – the sparrows had eaten them all!
The plant that shaped the gardener I am today
When I was a trainee at The Savill Garden at Windsor Great Park I lived in a cottage which had a small allotment. My then boss, Mark Flanagan, the late Keeper of the Gardens, saw what I was growing and instantly suggested I should work in a kitchen garden.
My favourite plant in the world
Japanese classical chrysanthemums, which you might not have heard of. They were developed in a particular region of Japan a few hundred years ago. The Shinjuku Gyoen garden in Tokyo displays these rare chrysanthemums, using their own training and display techniques in November each year.
The plant that made me work hardest
I was awarded an RHS Bursary in 2014 to study the classical chrysanthemums at Shinjuku Gyoen for three weeks. One of the displays was the hardest technique I ever learned. First created in 1884, the ‘Thousand Bloom’ display takes 18 months to create a hundred flowering stems from one root division.
The plant I’d like to grow more of
I’d like to grow more exotic trees or plants of spices, such as nutmegs, cloves and black peppers. It would be more exciting if I had an opportunity to know and appreciate how they’re processed as well.
The plant I am in human form
If Japanese people describe me as Dianthus superbus
longicalycinus I’d be delighted! Japanese metaphorically praise a woman who has beauty of neatness and tidiness as ‘yamato nadeshiko’ – the ancient name of Japan and dianthus. Although there are a few hundred species of dianthus, I think this particular variety, with exceptionally longfringed petals, best represents the character of a woman.
The plant that helped shape my life
In my teens, I learned a lot about plants from growing houseplants at home, including hydroculture. Surprisingly, one of the plants, Philodendron
selloum, is still growing strongly under my parents care.
The plant I’d always give as a gift
I lived in Australia for seven months, so I’m nostalgic about Australian plants such as banksia, protea, callistemon, anigozanthos, chamelaucium and eucalyptus. They are very different in appearance from those in the northern hemisphere and make wonderful cut flowers.