HORTICULTURAL HERO
One of Scotland’s most loved and respected gardening figures, George Anderson’s first connection with growing came from home where his father was a smallholder and market gardener which meant, from an early age, George was never far from the soil.
He left school at sixteen to work as a gardeners’ boy in the walled gardens at Smeaton Gardens, East Linton, and that practical grounding would set the tone for a lifetime of hands-on horticulture.
After gaining horticultural training at Edinburgh and East of Scotland Agriculture College where he completed his City & Guilds, he worked for J. Warnock and Sons at Garrion Farm, Wishaw growing tomatoes commercially, before joining the Amenity and Ornamental Horticulture course in 1966 at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, one of the UK’s oldest botanic gardens.
In 1969, he joined the staff of the School of Horticulture at the Botanic Garden, followed by Wolverhampton Teachers’ Training College, gaining the Certificate in Education, before returning to the Botanics to become Higher Scientific Officer and then Head of the School of Horticulture, a position he held for nearly 38 years before retiring in 2004. He was responsible for bringing on board the very successful HND Horticulture with Plantsmanship course, a qualification that many of today’s horticulturists hold.
During his time at the Botanics, George trained generations of horticulturists who went on to shape parks, gardens, and estates across Scotland and beyond. He talks of his role as educator as one which "gave them keys to open doors – that's what education is about."
Known for his calm, confident delivery and encyclopaedic plant knowledge, he was as comfortable in a propagation tunnel as he was in a classroom. George’s teaching philosophy was simple: speak confidently, share knowledge truthfully, and never underestimate the power of hands-on experience.
Alongside his educational career, he served as President of The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society from 2005–2011, Honorary President from 2014–2022, and as a council member of the Royal Horticultural Society for ten years, underscoring his influence beyond Scotland’s gardens, and always with a focus on getting more people growing.
In 2005, George became a presenter on BBC Scotland’s Beechgrove Garden, joining a line-up that included Jim McColl, Carole Baxter, and Lesley Watson. He quickly became a trusted voice for both new and seasoned gardeners, with segments which were practical and full of achievable ideas, including his frequent encouragement to give plants a healthy prune.
During the pandemic, we saw more of George's own garden in sunny Joppa, with his wife Jill behind the camera. These episodes offered something comforting and real – a glimpse of his greenhouse, his self-grafted apple trees, his mishaps with pests. Gardeners connected with George as a fellow grower sharing what was happening outside his back door.
He would be the first to say his garden is not a designer’s layout, "It’s a collection of plants I like, or that challenge me, or have memories."
From a woodland area and Japanese-style, dry gravel garden, to a row of apples he grafted himself, a quasi-herbaceous border as well as a vegetable patch and a greenhouse packed with seasonal experiments, the garden reflects his curiosity, memories, and that love of challenge – particularly his love of growing and showing daffodils for the spring shows. George calls his garden “a social history”.
George reminds us that gardening is not about perfection but about connection – to the soil, to plants, and to the stories they carry. For those considering a career in horticulture, his advice is simple, “Just do it. Don’t let anybody put you off. You’ll not be a millionaire, you’ll never make hundreds of thousands of pounds, but you’ll be able to feed yourself and you’ll have a life that is worth living. What else is life about?”
Whether teaching at the Botanics, presenting on Beechgrove, or sharing practical tips from his greenhouse on Instagram, George continues to share his love of growing – generously, honestly, and with deep roots in Scottish soil.
George’s Top Tips for Gardeners
1. Just do one job"There are so many jobs to be done, you’ve just got to focus and do one job, and be satisfied that you’ve actually completed it and it looks good when you're finished: the plant's properly staked, the thing is properly pruned, the area has been planted up and been mulched or whatever."
2. Tackle planting bit by bit"If you want to grow veg, cultivate, then cover the planting area in black fabric and leave it. Don’t roll the fabric back until you want to sow or plant the next row. That means you’ve then only got a small space to plant in, the rest is in the dark, not growing weeds, and that saves time. "
3. Prune without fear"There’s a fear in people about what to do with plants, but you’ve got to prune. Know the plant you’re pruning and know that it is one that will manage to recover once you’ve hacked it back, or pruned it judiciously as I say. Apple trees are a prime example. You have to prune them twice a year: in the summer, and in the winter. If you follow a few simple rules – take out the dead, diseased, and crossing wood – you’ll not have any problems.”
And the right time to prune? "When you’re passing with the secateurs."
George’s Top 3 Plant Choices
If George could only have three plants in a garden though, he would choose these three for beauty, scent, and personal meaning.
Cercidiphyllum japonicumA tree with beautifully spaced leaves along the stems of the plant, a light canopy, and a scent reminiscent of candy floss in spring and burnt sugar in autumn.
Apple (Malus domestica ‘Beauty of Bath’)A school bag apple from his childhood, chosen for the memories it evokes and his lifelong love of growing apples.
RoscoeaA spring flowering plant in the ginger family, chosen for seasonal interest and botanical intrigue.
George’s full conversation with editor M.T. O’Donnell is available on the Scotland Grows Show podcast.