408: Richard Wilford, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens

In studio with Andrew Fisher Tomlin, today alongside Peter Donegan we chat with Richard Wilford of Head of Garden Design at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. Richard has worked at Kew for over 30 years and albeit he was working with British Gas, he held a degree in Biology and started with a temporary job there before mbecoming responsible for a collection and moving into his current position.

This episode with thanks to Andrew Fisher Tomlin and The London College of Garden Design. 

Of himself Richard says:

I am Head of Garden Design at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. I have been in this role for four and a half years but I have been at Kew for 30 years. I started in the Alpine Nursery back in 1989, mainly looking after the large, pot-grown bulb collection. I have also worked on the Rock Garden and managed the alpine, woodland, grass and herbaceous collections. In 2012 I graduated from the London College of Garden design with a Diploma in Garden Design. Projects I have worked on include rebuilding and extending parts of the Rock Garden, the landscaping and planting of the Davies Alpine House, which opened in 2006, and the design of the Broad Walk Borders- the 320 metre long double herbaceous borders at Kew that were finished in 2016. Current projects are the Children’s Garden, opening in May this year, and the Evolution Garden, due to be finished in July. The Evolution Garden is on the site of the Plant Family Beds and will show the plant ‘tree of life’, which is the result of research in molecular systematic (studies of plant DNA) that helps scientists understand how plants are related and how they have evolved.

I have written books of tulips, alpines, bulbs and more tulips. I have another book on bulbs, ‘The Kew Gardener’s Guide to Growing Bulbs, due to be published this autumn.

instagram: richardwilf

This episode is with huge thanks to London College of Garden Design.

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