My Life in Plants
The first plant I ever grew
When I was eight or nine and part of my school’s gardening club, we planted out marigolds into patterns spelling out our names. So many varieties of plants can evoke wonderful memories such as these, and it’s something that fascinates me.
The plant that shaped the gardener I am today
As a child, my family moved to East Lambrook Manor Gardens, Margery Fish’s iconic cottage garden in Somerset. The whole family was very much involved in its restoration, and it was here I developed an interest in gardening. One plant in particular that stays with me from those happy days is the hardy geranium, which my dad collected. However, I left gardening to pursue a career in the city, but soon realised it wasn’t for me. I decided to pack up and sail around the world, taking with me a book on hardy geraniums, which I would read, while fantasising about plants and gardening. When I came back home I threw myself into my new career.
My favourite plant in the world
It has to be old roses, part of the reason I took the role at Mottisfont, which holds the National Collection of old- fashioned roses. I was brought up with them, a result of my mother and my grandmother’s passion for them. There were always old roses in the garden when I grew up, and they were always around me and I’ve planted them in every garden I’ve worked in.
The plant that made me work hardest
I’ve been gardening a long time, but ground elder resulted in the most back-breaking work! A client once had an infestation of this plant which led to days of it pulling out and digging over the soil. This was all before I understood the principle of ‘no dig’!
The plant I’d like to grow more of
Delphiniums and especially old, forgotten varieties such as bright blue ‘Alice Artindale’ have been a big love of mine since I was a child. I loved to attend the Chelsea Flower Show and see the spectacular displays of delphiniums, which never failed to bowl me over.
The plant I am in human form Being at Mottisfont, of course it has to be a rose! As I spent time gardening in Tuscany before coming here, the gallica rose ‘Tuscany Superb’, a group I am passionate about, seems the most appropriate.
The plant that helped shape my life While not a specific plant,
I’d choose the perennials which filled the garden at East Lambrook Manor Gardens. My life as a gardener has been influenced by Margery Fish and I wouldn’t be where I am today without the time I spent in that cottage garden.
The plant I’d always give as a gift A potted old-variety rose, with a flower in bloom.