Bob Flowerdew
Encyclopedia
Bob Flowerdew is an organic gardener
, and television and radio presenter. He is a regular panel member of BBC Radio 4
's Gardeners' Question Time
. He has nearly an acre of garden in Dickleburgh
, Norfolk
, England
, where he lives with his wife, Vonetta, a care worker, and their twins, Italia and Malachi.
He is known as one of Britain's leading organic gardeners. He is the son of a farmer, and his family has been working the land in East Anglia
since before the time of the Tudors. After graduating in financial management, he worked his way around Europe
and North America
, becoming fascinated by the different gardening and farming methods, returning to pick grapes with one French family for 12 successive years.
Flowerdew runs a consultancy landscape service, is President of the Norfolk
group of the Soil Association
, and also teaches at agricultural college. He has worked in television
, presenting the Channel 4
series Muck and Magic, and appeared on Sophie Grigson
's Grow Your Own Greens, where he was the sweetcorn
expert. He writes regularly for gardening blog, Under Cover with Bob Flowerdew.
He has written books on gardening including:
Organic horticulture
Organic horticulture is the science and art of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants by following the essential principles of organic agriculture in soil building and conservation, pest management, and heirloom variety preservation....
, and television and radio presenter. He is a regular panel member of BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Gardeners' Question Time
Gardeners' Question Time
Gardeners' Question Time is a long-running BBC Radio 4 programme in which amateur gardeners can put questions to a panel of experts.-History:...
. He has nearly an acre of garden in Dickleburgh
Dickleburgh
Dickleburgh is a village in South Norfolk situated six miles north of the Suffolk border. It lies on the old Roman road to Caistor St. Edmund which was the main road until a bypass was built in the early 1990s...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where he lives with his wife, Vonetta, a care worker, and their twins, Italia and Malachi.
He is known as one of Britain's leading organic gardeners. He is the son of a farmer, and his family has been working the land in East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
since before the time of the Tudors. After graduating in financial management, he worked his way around Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, becoming fascinated by the different gardening and farming methods, returning to pick grapes with one French family for 12 successive years.
Flowerdew runs a consultancy landscape service, is President of the Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
group of the Soil Association
Soil Association
The Soil Association is a charity based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1946, it has over 27,000 members today. Its activities include campaign work on issues including opposition to intensive farming, support for local purchasing and public education on nutrition; as well the certification of...
, and also teaches at agricultural college. He has worked in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, presenting the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
series Muck and Magic, and appeared on Sophie Grigson
Sophie Grigson
Hester Sophia Frances Grigson is an English cookery writer and celebrity chef known as Sophie Grigson. She has followed the same path and career as her mother, Jane Grigson. Her father was the poet and writer Geoffrey Grigson.-Life:...
's Grow Your Own Greens, where he was the sweetcorn
Sweetcorn
Sweet corn is a variety of maize with a high sugar content. Sweet corn is the result of a naturally occurring recessive mutation in the genes which control conversion of sugar to starch inside the endosperm of the corn kernel...
expert. He writes regularly for gardening blog, Under Cover with Bob Flowerdew.
He has written books on gardening including:
- 2008 Grow your Own, Eat your Own: Bob Flowerdew's Guide to Making the Most of your Garden Produce
- 2007 Going Organic: The Good Gardener's Guide to Getting It Right
- 2007 Gourmet Gardener: Everything You Need to Know to Grow and Prepare the Very Finest of Flowers, Fruits and Vegetables
- 2004 The No-Work Garden: Getting the Most Out of Your Garden for the Least Amount of Work
- 1998 Bob Flowerdew's Organic Bible
- 1995 Bob Flowerdew's Complete Fruit Book
- 1995 Bob Flowerdew's Complete Book of Companion Gardening
- 1993 The Organic Gardener