Paying it forward

We meet Ross Pearson, a gardening writer and horticultural lecturer from Northumberland, who was inspired and helped by his grandfather and now passes on his experience to the next generation of gardeners

- Ross Pearson

Like many gardeners your love of gardening came from spending time with a family member. Can you tell us more about that.

As a boy, I spent most weekends standing in the 'hut' belonging to my grandfather (affectionately known as 'Jacky'), peering on tiptoes at the old-fashioned tools and gardening projects spread across his wellworn work bench. Jacky was a character to say the least and I cherished those days spent pottering around the garden, learning his traditional gardening methods. Just after Jacky passed away, I found a battered old notebook of his tucked away in a drawer in the hut (which now takes pride of place in my garden) that contained over 20 years of hand drawings of his allotment, planting schemes and detailed dated lists of all his sowings, croppings, failures and successes. I try to follow those tried and tested tips whenever I can.

Inspired by your early love of gardening you decided to take up a career in horticulture. Can you describe your journey to becoming a lecturer and gardening writer?

I enrolled at Northumberland College to study horticulture and it was the best decision I could have made. I remember sitting in our first lesson as our lecturer informed us that by the end of the course we would know the scientific names of hundreds of plants and thinking he must be mad! After qualifying I landed the role of first gardener at the Alnwick Garden and eventually held roles as outdoor education leader at a primary school and very happily returned to my old college as a lecturer of horticulture. I love absorbing gardening literature because if one thing is certain, you never stop learning about gardening and no matter how experienced you are, you can never have all the answers. I have always had a passion for writing about gardening and passing on my knowledge to others through garden writing.