George Henry Preston

George Henry Preston (1911-2003) was a gardener who was curator in the Alpine and Herbaceous Department at Kew Gardens.

Career George Preston was born in Cambridge, 11 September 1911; his father was Frederick George Preston, who was Foreman and later Superintendent at Cambridge University Botanic Garden. After working in the Cambridge Botanic Garden he entered the Royal Horticultural Society garden at Wisley, where he obtained an RHS Diploma in Horticulture. From the 1950s his duties included the Chelsea Flower Show.

He was elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London in 1953. The British Iris Society awarded him the Foster Memorial Plaque in 1966 for his work on Irises. In 1971 was awarded the RHS Associate Medal of Honour. He was awarded the Lyttel Lily Cup in 1966 for his work on Lilium. He was on various horticultural committees and a regular judge for the Alpine Garden Society.

Publications Everyday Gardening (1955) edited by G H Preston, Ward Lock All About Gardening (1963) J Coutts, Edited by G H Preston, Ward, Lock & Co, Climbing and wall plants (1992) London:Cassell, , 3rd edition The Courtyard and Terrace Gardens (1993) George Preston, George Elliot, Ray Waite, Robert Pearson