He's a blooming talent

A rising star of the gardening world on chicken-friendly gardening and admirable women

- Arthur Parkinson

WHEN he’s not posting portraits of his beloved bantams or the glorious abundance of jewel-coloured, wildlife-attracting annuals, half-hardies and bulbs that he grows in metal troughs and dolly tubs at home in a tiny courtyard in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, Arthur Parkinson treats his 19,000 Instagram followers to selfies wearing a head-dress he has made from hydrangeas or giant dahlias, or clutching a hen.

His posts are accompanied by captions that are full of information and engaging opinions about gardening for wildlife (hens included—they’re very good at weeding between paving cracks). Last year, an appearance on BBC Gardeners’ World whetted his appetite for presenting and, this year, he will, hopefully, be making his first garden for the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, postponed to September from July. The stage is set for Mr Parkinson to step into the limelight.

‘Arthur has a seam of spectacular flamboyance, which I absolutely adore,’ says the flower grower Sarah Raven, with whom he works on a regular basis. He’s not only a handsome face, however, but a talented gardener, too: ‘He is an intensely creative person and has a genius for making a flower border feel as rich and intense and integrated as any arrangement in a vase,’ says Miss Raven. ‘It’s an exceptionally difficult skill, which is a product of great instinctive understanding, with a lot of hard work and knowledge of how plants behave.’

We meet on a bleak winter’s day at Perch Hill in East Sussex, Miss Raven’s home and business hub, as Mr Parkinson is here to help with a photoshoot.