GARDEN CHATgardening heroes38 www.dobbies.com spring/summer 2012Pete Jackson, celebrity gardener from Scottish Television's The Hour, reveals the people who have helped shape his gardening careerMy earliest memory of gardening takes me back to primary school, where our class had a competition to see who could grow the tallest sweet pea. We started them off in plastic cups, labelled them up and sat them proudly on the windowsill - I became obsessed with mine, couldn't wait to see the seed spring to life and I often talked to it. That was it, my teacher had me hooked. Hungry for more, I pestered my next door neighbour, Chris. He was a great gardener and I remember jumping the fence to help him grow vegetables. I dug, planted and watered with Chris and, at the age of just six or seven, learnt a great deal from him. I've never looked back, eventually choosing to make a career out of horticulture. When I started out, gardening wasn't popular and there were very few people on my college course (and some of those who were there didn't want to be). Thankfully that's all changed and now garden design in particular is a fashionable career choice. Of course I'm still learning, and I find Dan Pearson particularly inspirational. We've never met, although I like his gardening style and values. I love the way he's not afraid to talk openly about the gardening challenges he has, which is refreshing. I also hugely admire Cleve West, and think his collection of RHS Gold Medals awarded for Chelsea show gardens is an incredible achievement. I'd love to know his secret for winning so often. The biggest, most important thing I've learnt on my gardening journey is that I'll never know it all - there's always something new to learn, which is what makes it so special. Different trends have come and gone, although the magic of growing something never disappears. Until next time...Pete  Jackson  on...PETE'S PASSION FOR gardening started at school"The  biggest,  most  important  thing  I've  learnt  on  my  gardening  journey  is  that  I'll  never  know  it  all  -­  there's  always  something  new  to  learn"

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