My Life in Plants
The first plant I ever grew
After overhearing my uncle, who was a butcher, complain about the price of parsley which he used to decorate the shop window, I asked my mother if I could grow some. I did, and sold the bunches for seven old pence each. I was nine years old and so started my love of growing plants.
The plant that shaped the gardener I am today
When I left school I worked for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at Rosewarne Horticulture Experimental Station at Camborne in Cornwall. I was on the bulb section, working mainly with daffodil breeding. Even now, when I see bulbs in garden centres I feel a bit of pride that in some small way I helped bring some of them to the market place.
My favourite plant in the world
This has to be agapanthus, having propagated and grown so many of them over the years. Agapanthus ‘Rosewarne’, now called ‘Big Blue’, was one of my discoveries.
The plant that made me work my hardest
Along with 20 beech trees, I was asked to grow six 30foot wisteria for The Daily
Telegraph garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in 1995, while commercial manager for Rosewarne Nursery. Organisers hoped that by growing them in Cornwall they’d flower earlier. With tall ladders and rolls of fleece we managed to get four ready for the show, helping achieve a gold medal. Being presented with one as a thank you was a great thrill.
The plant I would like to grow more of
Hardy geraniums would be my choice. There are so many different flower and leaf colours and shapes, with a variety suitable for all aspects of the garden. I love to see the flowers nodding away above the leaves.
The plant I am in human form
Being a Cornishman, it would have to be a gorse,
Ulex europaeus, which looks good for most of the year, but can be a bit prickly!
The plant that helped me shape my life
This will definitely be the fuchsia. Now I’ve retired I’ve joined The British Fuchsia Society and hope to show my first exhibition fuchsias next year.
The plant that I‘d always give as a gift
Whether the gift was for someone with a large or small garden, or no garden at all, I’d give a dahlia. With so many forms available, there would always be a variety to suit them.