Having spent more than 30 years sharing his passion for plants with students at Pershore College, part of Warwickshire Group of Colleges, Duncan Coombs is also an enthusiastic lecturer, RHS Garden Advisor and keen plant hunter. His interest in horticulture started as a young child when he would accompany his grandfather around his garden.
I belong to the RHS Lily Group and we are able to exchange seeds, some of which originate from East Asia. I also have contacts, met through my RHS career, with whom I exchange seeds. Growing lilies from seed can be challenging and a test of patience. Some flower in a year, others can take up to ten years. However, they are a fascinating, diverse and perplexing group of plants to grow and provide me with an interesting scientific and gardening challenge, particularly when the lily beetles invade!”
“My first expedition to China was over 20 years ago. A student who lived in Beijing, and who worked for the Director of the Beijing Botanical Gardens, had been sent over to work on a British plant nursery. As this was difficult with work permits, he enrolled at Pershore College and was one of my students. Although initially he spoke virtually no English, he was a keen student and did well on his course. Sometime after his return to Beijing, I received an invitation from his boss inviting me to visit China for two weeks to visit the Botanic Gardens and gain an insight into the scientific and horticultural work being undertaken. I subsequently have visited Yunnan in south-west China on several occasions. This area of China is a plant hunter’s paradise and as part of the province borders Tibet, my visits have taken me into another interesting part of the world.”
“My trips have taken me to some really fascinating places and I have met so many people over the years. I strongly urge young people who have an interest in plants to look at the career opportunities that working in horticulture and botany can present. Now that the Covid-19 pandemic is hopefully drawing to a close with the international vaccination programme, I am looking towards planning a few more trips. I have never been to South America (one of the many countries on my bucket list), and I am hoping to accompany international garden designer, naturalist, and plant enthusiast Christopher Gardner on a tour to Chile and Argentina. There will be many different plants to see in this part of the world and I am filled with excited anticipation at the prospect of venturing to the Andes.”