My Life in Plants
The first plant I ever grew
It was curly kale which, surprisingly, grew big and strong in my very windy and open garden. I didn’t start growing it until my 30s when we moved to Skye. I had lots of healthy seedlings, which I enjoyed sharing with friends. It was really yummy to eat, too!
The plant that shaped the gardener I am today
Four years ago I was doing a pruning workshop at Dunvegan Castle gardens on Skye when I got my first cutting of antirrhinum ‘Black Prince’. It ignited a love for propagation and I’m still propagating its offspring to this day.
My favourite plant in the world
I will never forget seeing Himalayan poppy meconopsis ‘Lingholm’ for the first time and thinking: “They come in blue!” But it’s not only its flower I find irresistible, I love its golden leaf hairs, which do such an amazing job of collecting moisture from the air!
The plant that made me work hardest
I had to use an iron implement to dig out well-established clumps of crocosmia lodged in the render of a house! The plant must have been growing there for years and eventually my client and I decided to have the whole bit of wall rerendered as huge bits were falling off.
The plant I’d like to grow more of
Definitely the dwarf papyrus, Cyperus alternifolius. Firstly, it’s so much fun to take cuttings from and get them to root. Secondly, it grows very quickly and makes a large, impressive houseplant, which is very slender and graceful at the same time.
The plant I am in human form
My boyfriend says I look like the bird of paradise plant, Strelitzia reginae, as I’ve a rather pointy nose! I don’t for a minute think I’m as beautiful as the plant! Maybe I’m ‘unusual looking’, though?
The plant that helped shape my life
A big breakthrough in my gardening career was when I went from just weeding gardens to also taking people plant shopping or buying plants on their behalf. Acer japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’ was the first tree I bought for a client and I’ll never forget it.
The plant I’d always give as a gift
I always try to choose the right plant for the person I’m giving it to. My gifts have included Primula denticulata alba, hebe ‘Blue Gem’, Cerinthe major ‘ Purpurascens’, Echium pininana, and evergreen Parahebe catarractae ‘Delight’ – it grows so well up here on Skye and it’s one of my favourites.