Professor Alistair Griffiths wants to transform the way we garden. As director of science and collections at the RHS, his mission is to make gardening better for people, for nature and for the planet. It\u2019s an ambitious aim, but Alistair is the right man for the job.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

His quest springs from a lifelong love of gardening and the conviction that science can improve the world. \u201cMy grandad inspired me. When I was four, he bought me two little sedums in a car boot sale. My dad then gave me a piece of front garden. Soon the sedums had overgrown the whole thing.\u201d Like his stonecrops, Alistair\u2019s infatuation with plants hasn\u2019t stopped growing.<\/p>\n

When he\u2019s not working, he gardens. \u201cI have to be surrounded by plants,\u201d he smiles.<\/p>\n

As a young Lancashire lad, Alistair wanted to be a forester. \u201cBut I found out what it was about and decided against it. I didn\u2019t want to cut down trees, I wanted to grow them.\u201d He left school at 16 and built up his plant knowledge with a diploma in horticulture at nearby Myerscough College and a part-time job in a garden centre. This mix of the academic and the practical has been a leitmotif in his career.<\/p>\n

A spell at Ness Botanic Gardens near Liverpool introduced him to botanist Dr Hugh McAllister. \u201cHugh was an inspiration. I wanted to be like him. He encouraged me to go to university.\u201d And so, in 1998, Alistair graduated from Reading University with a degree in\u00a0botany and plant biology. \u201cI did my third-year research project in the High Atlas Mountains, studying the conservation status of Cupressus dupreziana <\/em>var. atlantica<\/em>.\u201d Explaining his academic success, Alistair says with unaffected modesty: \u201cI\u2019m not the sharpest tool in the box, but I have a lot of passion.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his degree, he worked for a short while in a high-street opticians but was unhappy. \u201cI remember my gran sending me a picture of the Eden Project and suggesting I apply to work there. I didn\u2019t think I could do it, but I got an interview and they took me on.\u201d He started by propagating plants, then moved into the plant records department before becoming head of science. He did a PhD while working at Eden. \u201cLooking back, it\u2019s not something I\u2019d recommend.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Alistair was at the Eden Project, from 1999 to 2013, the role of director of science at the RHS came up a couple of times. \u201cI wasn\u2019t ready when it first came round.\u201d The second time he was. Since June 2013, he has headed a team of 70 scientists and nearly as many PhD and post-doctoral students. Their aim is to maximise the environmental and health benefits of plants. \u201cWhat\u2019s exciting is that at\u00a0RHS Garden Wisley we can turn science into applied action,\u201d he explains. \u201cSome students are looking into climate-resilient trees, measuring things such as carbon sequestration, pollution capture and cooling effects. Others are studying the noise-reduction properties of various plants, to tackle noise pollution in cities. We\u2019re also looking at how plant scent, colour and shape can boost our wellbeing.\u201d<\/p>\n

FOR YEARS, WE\u2019VE UNDERPLAYED THE BENEFITS OF ORNAMENTAL PLANTS; ALL WE HAVE USED THEM FOR IS BEAUTY <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
Alistair wants to design a blueprint for a wellbeing garden (he\u2019s even working on aversion in his own garden).\u201c We can create habitats that help with human stresses. For years, we\u2019ve underplayed the benefits of ornamental plants. All we have ever used them for is beauty.\u201d As his book \u2013 Your Wellbeing Garden <\/em>\u2013 explains, gardens and green spaces are so much more than places of beauty. They can heal, \u00a0calm or excite; increase our physical health; bring us closer to other people; protect us from extremes of temperature, noise and pollution; and create habitats for wildlife. Alistair\u2019s team is helping to increase these positives, known as \u2018ecosystem benefits\u2019.<\/p>\n
Alistair believes we\u2019re entering \u201ca new, golden era\u201d of horticulture. Hilltop, the recently opened Home of Gardening Science at RHS Garden Wisley, is physical proof of this. A place for behind-the-scenes, cutting-edge research, it also features an open-to-all permanent exhibition showcasing the benefits of plants and gardening. Visitors also have access to a 28,000- book library, learning studios and a teaching garden. They can even take part in experiments. \u201cWe\u2019ve got the UK\u2019s biggest garden plant herbarium at Hilltop. We\u2019re hoping to expand it to include all 400,000 in the UK and create a database of their uses from an environmental, and health and wellbeing perspective.\u201d All this information will eventually be available via the online RHS Plant Finder facility.<\/p>\n
Climate change is the most pressing issue for Alistair. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot we need to do. We need to inspire people to use gardening as a vehicle to help reverse the climate and biodiversity crisis we\u2019re facing,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s critical: how we steward the planet. The Earth will carry on, it\u2019s we who are at risk. But we can turn it around.\u201d His task may be considerable, but his message is simple: \u201cGarden with your footprint in mind. Thirty million UK gardeners can make a huge difference.<\/p>\n
USEFUL INFORMATION <\/strong><\/p>\n
RHS Hilltop, the Home of Gardening Science, is based at RHS Garden Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB, To plan and book your visit, go to rhs.org.uk\/gardens\/wisley<\/a><\/p>\n
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