My Life in Plants
The first plant I ever grew
As a student I always had a plant with me. I had a ‘mother of thousands’, Saxifraga stolonifera ‘Kinki Purple’, with purple leaves, which fascinated me with its ‘babies’, and the sudden amazing tower of delicate white flowers it produced in late summer.
The plant that shaped the gardener I am today
Silver wattle, Acacia dealbata, with its delicate, yellow, fluffy flowers and grey-green, soft leaves, which flowered in our garden in my childhood, was the start of my fascination with Australasian plants.
My favourite plant in the world
My floriferous cistus ‘Snow Fire’, which I bought as a small bush from Forde Abbey gardens in Devon. As a small plant you could see the structure of the branches, but as a large bush it has the most amazing flowers, which change daily. Bees love it.
The plant that made me work hardest
I like rescuing plants that have seen better days, hoping they’ll recover. I usually have a number of eclectic plants in pots that don’t necessarily suit my garden such as a tiny holly bush, Ilex
meserveae ‘Blue Angel’, a tree hollyhock, Hibiscus syriacus ‘Duc de Brabant’ and Campanula
poscharskyana ‘E.H.Frost’, but I like plants of all kinds. The downside is I have to keep moving them to ensure they get the right amount of light or shade, and being in pots they need watering!
The plant I am in human form
Perhaps I’m a gum tree moving with the wind, never quite still. I have a Eucalyptus nicholii and a Eucalyptus glaucescens in my garden at the moment. The E. glaucescens needs regular trimming to keep it within the bounds of the garden.
The plant that helped shape my life
Probably the humble primroses and lesser celandines growing in the hedgerows, which means spring’s on its way, as their delicate, yellow flowers brighten the dark green of the English countryside.
The plant I’d always give as a gift
Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Miss Jessopp’s Upright’ is a reliable rosemary with an erect habit, and delicate, light blue flowers, with the added bonus of adding flavour to a family Sunday roast! I use a great deal of rosemary in my cooking.