Peter Donegan chats with Matthew Biggs; a gardener, writer and broadcaster

On leaving school at sixteen he rapidly found office work too claustrophobic and rushed outdoors where he has remained happily ever since. He is currently developing his Hertfordshire garden and learning to love clay soil. Fascinated by plants of any kind he grows exotics, heritage fruit, unusual vegetables, tree and masses of bulbs. Matt is in love with Echium wildpretii has grown it several times in his garden but still dreams of seeing it in the wild. His latest book is The Secrets of Great Botanists.

Botanists are the trailblazers who first discovered how plants work and searched the globe for many of the plants we grow in the garden today. Each of the thirty five profiles, reveals their fascinating life stories from botanizing Pirate William Dampier to pioneering photographer Anna Atkins and modern day collectors and conservationists Bleddyn and Sue Wynn-Jones. Special feature pages reveal the qualities that brought them success and what we can learn from them. Illustrated with beautiful period watercolours and vibrant, colourful photographs, this is the ideal book for anyone who loves real life adventures.

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Matt Biggs:

Octopus Publishing: The Book - Secrets of Great Botanists

twitter: @plantmadman

web: www.matthewbiggs.com

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