Helena Pettit is the kind of woman who makes ordinary mortals seem a tad underpowered. For a spot of relaxation after a busy show season, she chooses a 100km kayak trip up the coast of Norway, beaching her craft and wild camping by night. Her garden in Kent, she confesses, is often a little neglected, as she spends so many weekends away, hiking with a band of equally energetic and outdoorsy friends. She is a second degree Dan black belt in Kyokushinkai karate – retired, she hastens to point out, although she used to fight for the Great Britain squad in her youth (she says it wistfully, although she is only in her forties – a mere stripling in the world of gardening). She has faced off attackers in dodgy nightclubs (no doubt in high heels – Helena is exceptionally glamorous), and trekked through the Andes in Peru. Yet she considers herself the least adventurous in her family: her brother ran off at 17 to join the French Foreign Legion.
Her mum, who disapproved of all that fighting, is delighted to see her tomboy daughter end up with a nice ladylike job – first as director of shows at the RHS, then in 2020 adding the Society’s five gardens and retail to her portfolio. She is shortly to hand over responsibility for the gardens as she takes on a new role, as director of commercial and innovation, and can barely contain her anticipation.
Denne historien er fra July 2023-utgaven av Gardens Illustrated.
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Denne historien er fra July 2023-utgaven av Gardens Illustrated.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Bright blooms
Flowering shrubs bring much needed colour and scent to the garden in late winter and early spring. Expert Tony Kirkham selects the best
SWEET DREAMS
A new book on one of the UK's favourite flowers is filled with beautiful photography, but is more than a coffee-table tome, says cut-flower grower Georgie Newbery
VERDANT VALLEY
For his own Mediterranean garden, designer Maurizio Usai has gone against the trend for drought-tolerant planting and created a lush, green natural oasis
Food for thought
More people than ever want to grow their own, for a variety of reasons, says Dr Richard Claxton, and this one thing can improve our health and help the planet
CREATING CONTEMPORARY PLANTING BEDS
Designer Charlotte Harris reflects on the shift towards organically shaped 'island' planting beds, and reveals inside tips on how to get the right effect
ARE PLANTS PEOPLE TOO?
Some recent research suggests plants may be able to learn, sense and communicate. So, asks Darryl Moore, should we now rethink how we treat them?
HEUCHERA AND TIARELLA
With their striking foliage in a range of bold colours, heucheras, and the associated heucherellas and tiarellas, are low-maintenance plants that offer year-round colour
The future for Sissinghurst
The climate crisis is affecting us all. Head gardener Troy Scott Smith outlines the challenges he faces and explains how he is now working differently
JINNY BLOM'S - favourite plants
Award-winning landscape designer Jinny Blom set up her studio in 2000 and has since designed many beautiful, thoughtful gardens, both large and small, around the world.
BEECH GARDENS at the Barbican, ten years on
As a new phase of planting begins, Professor Nigel Dunnett looks at how the iconic public gardens he created at The Barbican Estate in London have evolved over the past decade
