LUKE SENIOR
Gardens Illustrated|December 2023
A former Ruth Borun scholar at Great Dixter, Luke is now one of the garden's full time gardeners
LUKE SENIOR

Earliest garden memory Making miniature gardens out of rocks, logs and various uprooted weeds in a sandbox.

First plant love The earliest plants I remember growing were busy Lizzies and sycamore seedlings on the windowsills back home in Ireland. But the first plants I was really excited about growing were gloriosa lilies. I grew them inside on bamboo canes and loved how exotic the flowers looked.

Who has inspired your career the most and why? Jimi Blake. I first started working at Jimi's garden, Hunting Brook, when I was 19. I enjoyed his approach to plants and how he uses them as well as his fun perspective on gardening.

Favourite landscape or garden that has influenced you My general enthralment with the rural Irish landscape lives on, especially in Tipperary where I grew up, with the mixture of rolling hills and mountainous backdrops.

This story is from the December 2023 edition of Gardens Illustrated.

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This story is from the December 2023 edition of Gardens Illustrated.

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