'I'm a bell ringer - not many people know that'
I was about nine years old when I started gardening. I built a little polythene greenhouse in the back garden, where I grew geraniums and spider plants. I also kept two pet mice, but a cat got in and frightened them to death.
My mother and my grandfather were keen gardeners and they both had a big in uence on me. My dad hated it. Both his father and his grandfather had been gardeners, and they’d put him o by making him weed for a penny a bucket.
I went to work in a nursery aged 15. The foreman advised me to do my apprenticeship there, go to college for a year, and then go to work at Kew. So that’s exactly what I did. I really just wanted to be outside growing plants. I had no career plan.
When it comes to gardens, I really enjoy making a scene that I can look out on. I do like a nice lawn and I enjoy billowing borders of owers. Line, form and perspective are so very important in a garden. They are more important than colour, in fact.
I don’t like gladioli. They’re so sti and starchy and unyielding. They’re quite useful for ower arranging in churches but since I don’t do that, I have no reason for growing them.
I became a gardening-books editor in 1974. I’d always enjoyed reading and writing at school. That was the start of a literary career I suppose, although I didn’t realise it at the time.
I work very hard but then so do a lot of people. I’ve been given a lot of opportunities, and I have grasped them with both hands. Sometimes it’s easy to play it safe, but a lot of the time I have just held my nose and jumped.
I like being stimulated. I enjoy challenging myself. I would never say I was ambitious in terms of being competitive, but I am avid in terms of stimulation. Not so much physically, mind you, but certainly mentally.
You’ve got to do the things that you enjoy. My yardstick is always ‘Will this embarrass my children, and will it embarrass the audience?’ I don’t mind challenging people, and not everybody is going to love you, but I’d rather it didn’t make people curl their toes.
I have turned lots of things down. I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! for example. That’s not my bag at all. People don’t want to see me pick u out of my navel.
The secret to my success is being passionate and being myself. You’re going to irritate the pants off some people but I’ve always tried to be true to myself. It’s important to display generosity of spirit.
I am a great family man. I’ve got grandchildren now and they are divine.
I’ve been lucky to meet very impressive people and learn from them. When I started writing ction in 1998, Jilly Cooper marked up my first few chapters, which was incredibly generous of her. I met Nelson Mandela and actually made a garden for him. He possessed the quietest, most graceful charisma of anybody I have ever met.
The Prince of Wales is inspiring. He is a very dedicated man. I admire people who show tenacity in the face of opposition. I think you’ve got to stick up for what you believe in, even if it makes you rather unpopular or unfashionable.
I have a positive mindset. I’m a great believer in that old Yorkshire saying: ‘A trouble shared is a trouble dragged out till bedtime.’ I grew up with parents who just said, ‘Get on with it’.
When I’m not gardening, I have an old car I drive and a little boat on the river – toys that I indulge myself with. I also collect books. At the last count, about 5,000 – I shouldn’t be allowed to keep putting up shelves.
One thing a lot of people don’t know about me is that I’m a bell ringer. About once a month I potter to the church opposite. I’ve been doing it since I was around 10 years old. I used to love singing in the choir too – I was a good treble when I was a boy.
I’d like to be remembered for the trees and the plants I leave behind. That will be my legacy – a better bit of landscape.
My mother and my grandfather were keen gardeners and they both had a big in uence on me. My dad hated it. Both his father and his grandfather had been gardeners, and they’d put him o by making him weed for a penny a bucket.
I went to work in a nursery aged 15. The foreman advised me to do my apprenticeship there, go to college for a year, and then go to work at Kew. So that’s exactly what I did. I really just wanted to be outside growing plants. I had no career plan.
When it comes to gardens, I really enjoy making a scene that I can look out on. I do like a nice lawn and I enjoy billowing borders of owers. Line, form and perspective are so very important in a garden. They are more important than colour, in fact.
I don’t like gladioli. They’re so sti and starchy and unyielding. They’re quite useful for ower arranging in churches but since I don’t do that, I have no reason for growing them.
I became a gardening-books editor in 1974. I’d always enjoyed reading and writing at school. That was the start of a literary career I suppose, although I didn’t realise it at the time.
I work very hard but then so do a lot of people. I’ve been given a lot of opportunities, and I have grasped them with both hands. Sometimes it’s easy to play it safe, but a lot of the time I have just held my nose and jumped.
I like being stimulated. I enjoy challenging myself. I would never say I was ambitious in terms of being competitive, but I am avid in terms of stimulation. Not so much physically, mind you, but certainly mentally.
You’ve got to do the things that you enjoy. My yardstick is always ‘Will this embarrass my children, and will it embarrass the audience?’ I don’t mind challenging people, and not everybody is going to love you, but I’d rather it didn’t make people curl their toes.
I have turned lots of things down. I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! for example. That’s not my bag at all. People don’t want to see me pick u out of my navel.
The secret to my success is being passionate and being myself. You’re going to irritate the pants off some people but I’ve always tried to be true to myself. It’s important to display generosity of spirit.
I am a great family man. I’ve got grandchildren now and they are divine.
I’ve been lucky to meet very impressive people and learn from them. When I started writing ction in 1998, Jilly Cooper marked up my first few chapters, which was incredibly generous of her. I met Nelson Mandela and actually made a garden for him. He possessed the quietest, most graceful charisma of anybody I have ever met.
The Prince of Wales is inspiring. He is a very dedicated man. I admire people who show tenacity in the face of opposition. I think you’ve got to stick up for what you believe in, even if it makes you rather unpopular or unfashionable.
I have a positive mindset. I’m a great believer in that old Yorkshire saying: ‘A trouble shared is a trouble dragged out till bedtime.’ I grew up with parents who just said, ‘Get on with it’.
When I’m not gardening, I have an old car I drive and a little boat on the river – toys that I indulge myself with. I also collect books. At the last count, about 5,000 – I shouldn’t be allowed to keep putting up shelves.
One thing a lot of people don’t know about me is that I’m a bell ringer. About once a month I potter to the church opposite. I’ve been doing it since I was around 10 years old. I used to love singing in the choir too – I was a good treble when I was a boy.
I’d like to be remembered for the trees and the plants I leave behind. That will be my legacy – a better bit of landscape.