Kenneth A. Beckett

After some twenty years' experience of practical horticulture and two years at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) gardens at Wisley, England, where he gained the RHS diploma, Kenneth Albert Beckett turned from spadework to writing.

He worked first on the Gardener's Chronicle and then became a freelance writer, editor, and consultant. He has written hundreds of articles for gardening magazines, edited the Hardy Plant Society's Bulletin, edits the International Dendrological Society's Year Book, and is a member of the RHS Scientific committee.

His many books - some written in collaboration with his wife - include Love of Gardening. Gardening is his main hobby, and he and his wife have a one-acre garden in Norfolk that boasts over 2,000 different plants.

He has made many trips abroad to study plants in the wild and is particularly interested in the flora of Australia and New Zealand.