Graham Stuart Thomas

Graham Stuart Thomas (3 April 1909 – 17 April 2003) was an English horticulturist, who is likely best known for his work with garden roses, his restoration and stewardship of over 100 National Trust gardens and for writing 19 books on gardening, many of which remain classics today. However, as he states in the Preface to his outstanding book, The Rock Garden and its Plants: From Grotto to Alpine House, "My earliest enthusiasms in gardening were for....alpines." p8

In his obituary in the Los Angeles Times, Clair Martin, rose curator of Huntington Botanical Gardens said: "Thomas set about preserving the heritage of old roses when many of them were on the verge of extinction".

Early life Graham Stuart Thomas was born in Cambridge into a family of keen amateur gardeners and musicians. His father William Richard Thomas was a clerk to Cambridge University syndicate. He is said to have developed his interest in plants at the age of six, when he was given a fuchsia as a gift. On another occasion, he spent a birthday present of half a crown buying alpine plants on Cambridge Market.

At 17, he joined Cambridge University Botanic Garden, which enabled him to also attend university lectures on horticulture and botany. These lectures were his only formal education in the field of horticulture, although as a member of staff at the botanic garden he built up a practical and theoretical knowledge that would become the foundation of his career.

Horticultural career In 1930, Thomas joined the then famous Six Hills Nursery in Stevenage, working under alpine expert Clarence Elliott. The following year he became foreman at T. Hilling & Co (Hillings), a renowned 300-acre nursery near Chobham, Surrey.

Thomas became partner at Sunningdale Nurseries – then the most revered nursery in the country – with Jim Russell. The partners became known for planting schemes that focused on form and foliage, as much as flowers. At Sunningdale, Thomas established his entire collection of roses. It is Mottisfont Abbey – a creation that he himself described as a "masterpiece" – where his rose collection found its final home, and where his garden design skills can be best appreciated.

Gardening accolades and legacy In 1975, Thomas received the OBE for his work with the National Trust. Other awards included the Royal Horticultural Society's Veitch Memorial Medal in 1966 and Victoria Medal of Honour in 1968.

He influenced a number of other notable rose growers, including Peter Beales, who worked with him for a short time at Hillings.

Rose 'Graham Thomas' was introduced by David Austin in 1983. Austin and Thomas shared a love of old roses

Books Books written by Graham Stuart Thomas include: The Old Shrub Roses (1955) Colour in the Winter Garden (1957) Shrub Roses of Today (1962) Climbing Roses Old and New (1965) Perennial Garden Plants (1975) Plants for Ground Cover (1977) Gardens of the National Trust (1979) The Art of Planting (1984) Complete Flower Paintings and Drawings of Graham Stuart Thomas (1987) The Rock Garden and its Plants: From Grotto to Alpine House (1989 Sagapress/Timber Press) Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos, (1992) The Graham Stuart Thomas Rose Book, (1994) (republication of Old Shrub Roses, Shrub Roses of Today, and Climbing Roses Old and New) Cuttings from My Garden Notebooks (1997) Treasured Perennials (1999) Graham Stuart Thomas' Three Gardens of Pleasant Flowers: With Notes on Their Design, Maintenance and Plants (2001) The Garden Through the Year (2002) Recollections of Great Gardeners (2003)