My Life in Plants
The first plant I ever grew
When I was young, I distinctly remember growing a number of cacti from seed and being very excited about it. I grew them on the windowsill in my bedroom.
The plant that shaped the gardener I am today
I learned more about plants when I changed my career from science to garden design and I’d say that the plants that shaped my design style were Taxus baccata and Buxus
sempervirens. I really enjoy using structural forms of these evergreen plants in contrast to a palette of soft perennials.
My favourite plant in the world
Any plant in the genus Sarracenia, the North American pitcher plant. I find these carnivorous plants fascinating and have an ever-growing collection in my garden!
The plant that made me work hardest
Not to single it out, as this happens with many other species, but I’m often frustrated when varieties of echinacea I specify in my schemes aren’t very long-lived or reliable. I trust long-standing or older varieties, but not all the new ones until they’ve proven their worth!
The plant I’d like to grow more of
I’d choose a tree, the pin oak,
Quercus palustris, which has a tall, straight, elegant form with lovely shaped leaves and great autumn colour.
Plant I am in human form
I particularly love our native plants and trees, so I think I’d choose to be an English oak,
Quercus robur, dependable and hopefully long-lived! Or as I’m working on the detail design for my Seedlip Garden for RHS Chelsea 2018, and currently living and dreaming about garden peas, that’s possibly what I’ve turned into at the moment!
The plant that shape my life
It’s definitely the tomato plant. One of my strongest and earliest childhood memories is of the smell of tomatoes growing in my grandad’s greenhouse. I think my love of growing vegetables, gardening and of plants generally is associated with this memory.
The plant I’d give as a gift
I’d choose a tree again. A multi-stemmed June berry,
Amelanchier lamarckii. These trees have year-round interest: white flowers in spring, summer berries, fantastic autumn colour and in this form, great winter structure!