The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Getting to know you
Celebrity gardener Carol Klein is coming to the Gardyne Theatre, Dundee, on April 27. Here, she gets to the root of things...
Q What do you love most about gardening?
A Putting plants together and seeing the changing picture.
Q Which are your favourite gardens and gardeners?
A I don’t really have favourites, that would be asking for trouble. I love Great Dixter and Fergus Garrett, Edinburgh Botanics, John’s Garden at Ashwood Nursery and John, Gresgarth Hall and Arabella Lennox-Boyd.
Q Your house is on fire; what one item do you save?
A Our pets, Fifi, Fleur, Sylvie and Sylvester.
Q Theme song for your life?
A Walk On The Wild Side.
Q Dream dinner party guests?
A My husband Neil and my daughters, Picasso, Christopher Lloyd, Dorothy Parker, Frida Kahlo, Nelson Mandela.
Q First thing you’d do if you won £1 million?
A Buy a lot of Lottery tickets to win enough to make a real difference.
Q Quiet night in or big night out?
A Yes, please – both!
Q City break or weekend in the country?
A Either, as long as I can choose the place.
Q Early bird or night owl?
A Both.
Q Save it or spend it?
A Spend it.
Q Couch potato or fitness fanatic?
A Gardening keeps you fit.
Q Home or abroad?
A Love both.
Q Rebel rebel or teacher’s pet?
A Well, they never made me a prefect.
Q Early or late?
A Late but I was born a month late. Being early is such a waste of time.
Q Cats or dogs?
A Yes. We have two of each.
Q Sweet or savoury?
A Why choose?
Q Happiest memory?
A Giving birth.
Q And most embarrassing?
A I don’t embarrass easily.
Q Biggest regret?
A Not having enough time to do everything before I die.
Q What are you proudest of?
A Our daughters.
Q Who do you admire most?
A People who love what they do and do it as well as they can.
Q And who do you detest?
A Hypocrites and bullies.
Q If you could turn back the clock, what one thing would you change?
A I’d plant more trees and be nicer to people.
Q Who would you like to thank?
A My friends and family for always supporting me, even when I’m wrong.
Q What advice would you give to your younger self?
A Make the most of it.
Q Hardest thing you’ve had to give up?
A Smoking.Q If you hadn’t been a gardener, what would you have liked to have done?
A To have been an explorer.
Q Do you give money to beggars?
A Yes, there but for the grace of God...
Q What’s your motto?
A Don’t have mottoes.
Q What keeps you awake at night?
A Worrying about the world.
Q What three words would your best friend use to describe you?
A I don’t know – he’s asleep.
Q And your biggest critic?
A Mouthy, badly behaved, difficult.
Q What have you got in your pockets/ handbag?
A Penknife, string, safety pins, seed packets and food of some kind.
Q Write your own epitaph.
A Plant firmly and water well.