Indian trip proves fruitful for plant hunter

17:18 18th November 2010

Exbury Gardens recently asked its head gardener to undertake a task that may have made him the envy of many a horticultural enthusiast.

John Anderson was asked to leave his garden and greenhouse in the UK and travel thousands of miles to a remote mountain region of India.

There, he was tasked with seeking out seeds to bring back and grow at the Hampshire site - a job he revelled in.

The expert told the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) that it was once common for people like Lionel de Rothschild, who founded the Exbury, to pay plant hunters to bring them back exotic species for their collections.

Mr Anderson managed to return from the Arunachal Pradesh area with seeds from approximately 200 different species, including oaks, maples, lilies and herbaceous podophyllums.

He explained that the garden is always looking for something unique and that the seeds will now be grown at a number of sites across England.

Meanwhile, the RHS reported that a rare moss which mainly lives on thatched roofs is now thought to be more widespread than previously imagined.