I grew up in Oxted. While I was at school I had various jobs; working in the greengrocers, Meyers, in Oxted high street, on Saturdays, working in Barons’ restaurant, Oxted, washing up, on Friday and Saturday nights, and doing gardening, or working at Nags Hall on Sunday mornings. I then moved frequently because of work. After training at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew I was Head Gardener at Myddelton House, Enfield, before taking up garden writing and moving to Peterborough. I worked for the RHS magazine, Garden News and was editor of Garden Answers. I also worked as a freelance writer, have written seven books and contributed to others and was Chairman of the London Group of the NCCPG. I now live in Ireland where I looks after a garden and am creating my own, 1 acre garden around my new house while writing for Garden Answers, Garden News, Landscape magazine and The English Garden. I am gardening columnist for The Irish Sunday Times. I give talks and write about gardening and Ireland in his blog: www.thebikinggardener.com I am a general horticulturist and will (and have) grown anything I can get my hands on! From orchids to beetroot – I will do my best to grow it.
Knights Garden Centres are celebrating 75 years of trading; a significant achievement in an age of take-overs and mergers, when companies appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. I have been asked to write because, to quote Richard Knight, I have been working there ‘almost since the beginning’. While this is not quite true, I have worked at Knights, especially at the Nag’s Hall branch, since I was at school and, since I am now in my seventh decade (just) I have known the company a long time.
On this blog I will be reminiscing about my times at Knights and giving you some handy hints so, together with Knights Garden Centres, you can have your best garden ever this season”