About Tom
Biography
Born: London 11-01-1962
Married: to Melanie Eclare, garden photographer. Daughter, Rose, 5 1/2
Educated: Harrow School 1975-79 (3 ‘A’ Levels: French, History, History of Art)
Further Education: Oaklands College of Horticulture. National Diploma Horticulture (Commercial)
Racing
After leaving school Tom Petherick worked in the horse racing industry in Britain and Ireland for eight years culminating in two years as a journalist for the International Racing Bureau in London. After travelling in India for 12 months a lifelong passion for plants began to take shape when he took a three year National Diploma in commercial horticulture from Oaklands College between 1989-91.
India
Tom spent his horticultural sandwich year helping to restore a redundant organic coffee farm in Tamil Nadu, south India and returned to this project for a further six months after completing his studies. This period honed Tom’s interests in sustainable and organic issues both abroad and at home and is a field in which he wishes to continue to work, especially through the medium of film and television.
The Lost Gardens of Heligan
On returning from India Tom joined Europe’s largest garden restoration project where he stayed for three years in charge of the productive gardens. He has since published two books about the gardens entitled ‘Heligan, A Portrait of The Lost Gardens’ (Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2004) and ‘The Kitchen Gardens at Heligan’ on the gardening techniques of the walled gardens at Heligan with the same publisher. His wife Melanie Eclare took the photographs for both.
Commercial Organic Horticulture
Between 1997 and 2000 Tom took over and restored two redundant walled gardens in Dorset, put them through organic certification under the Soil Association, and produced salad crops for market. In 2000 Heligan offered the post of Horticultural Director (Designate) and on accepting Tom and his family returned to Cornwall.
Consultancy
Tom runs a horticultural consultancy advising clients on organic methods of horticulture, permaculture and all aspects of sustainable land use. His clients have included The National Trust. He is currently converting his 10 acre farm and garden in Devon over to mixed cultivation comprising, horticulture, orchards, poultry and the establishment of a suckler herd of South Devon cattle. He is registering with the Bio-Dynamic Agricultural Association which certifies the produce from the land both organically and bio-dynamically.
Writing
From the mid 1990’s Tom has been writing regularly for both newspapers and periodicals. Through 2003-04 he wrote a weekly column entitled ‘Kitchen Garden’ for the Saturday Times and during 2005 a monthly column for Cornwall Today. His work appears regularly in such publications as Gardens Illustrated, Saga Magazine, Hortus, Organic Gardening Magazine and Country Smallholder. The last two of which he writes monthly columns for. He is also currently writing a fortnightly column for the Saturday Telegraph on how to go organic. His book Trees That Shape The World, an illustrated book looking at how important the great trees of the world are to the landscape and people of the six biomes in which they are found, was published by Quadrille in Autumn 2006. Tom’s new book ‘Sufficient’, a practical guide to sustainable living, will be published by Pavillion in September 2007.
Presenting
Since Autumn 2003 Tom has been working with the production company HCA (Henry Cole Associates) making horticultural DVD’s. He has presented four 60+ minute DVD’s which are in a box set entitled ‘Secrets Behind England’s Finest Gardens’. As well as being sold in the gardens that are featured (Heligan, Newby Hall, The Abbey Gardens, Tresco and The Alnwick Garden) this box set is available retail at WH Smith, the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) shop at Wisley, National Trust gardens and shops and is being distributed by Pinnacle to its many outlets. The box set is also available online at www.dancing-bee.co.uk . On showing the product to the National Trust they agreed to allow HCA and Tom Petherick to make a further 4 DVD box set of their own finest gardens filmed through the four seasons (Sissinghurst, Knightshayes, Powis Castle and Biddulph Grange) for release Christmas 2006. Tom is also presenting a series of 60 minute ‘how-to’ horticultural DVD’s to be completed autumn 2006.