About Sarah Raven
Born 1963. Sarah Raven is a British horticulturist, television presenter, cook, writer, florist and businessperson.
Sarah Clare Raven (born 3 February 1963) is an English gardener, cook and writer.
Early life and education Raven was born in Marylebone, the daughter of John Earle Raven (d. 1980), a classics don and Senior Tutor at King's College, Cambridge, and his wife Faith nΓ©e Hugh Smith (Constance Faith Alethea Hugh Smith ), a daughter of Owen Hugh Smith (1869β1958).
Raven graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a degree in history and then trained as a doctor at the University of London.
Biography Company She runs a mail-order company, specialising in cutting plants. The gardener Christopher Lloyd, a near-neighbour at Great Dixter, described Raven in the mid-1990s as "really energetic and creative ... promot[ing] a more dynamic and showy style of gardening than has been fashionable for many years".
Publications Raven's publications include The Cutting Garden, The Bold and Brilliant Garden, The Great Vegetable Plot, Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook (U.S. title: In Season) which was named Cookery Book of the Year by the Guild of Food Writers in 2008. and A Year Full of Flowers which describes her garden at Perch Hill in Sussex. In 2011, she published a monumental book on Wild Flowers, with photographs by Jonathan Buckley, who has worked with her on most of her books. Sissinghurst: Vita Sackville-West and the Creation of a Garden was published in November 2014.
Broadcasting A BBC2 television series called Bees, Butterflies and Blooms, which she presented, focusing on the national decline in pollinating insects and championing nectar-rich flowers as a way of saving them, was broadcast in February 2012. She presented an episode of Great British Garden Revival which aired on BBC Two in 2014.
Personal life She is married to writer Adam Nicolson, and has two daughters with him, plus three stepsons from his previous marriage. Her family's move to a small farm in Sussex was depicted in Nicolson's book Perch Hill: A New Life.
Awards 2021: winner, Garden Media Guild award for Best Radio Broadcast or Podcast for her "Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange" podcast with Arthur Parkinson
Publications The Cutting Garden The Bold and Brilliant Garden The Great Vegetable Plot Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook (U.S. title: In Season) A Year Full of Flowers Wild Flowers (2011) β with photographs by Jonathan Buckley Sissinghurst: Vita Sackville-West and the Creation of a Garden (2014)
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Important facts
People in Sarah Raven's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Sarah Raven's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Sarah Raven?
British gardener (born 1963)
When was Sarah Raven born?
Sarah Raven was born on 3 February 1963 in Cambridge.
What is Sarah Raven's occupation?
Sarah Raven is a horticulturist, television presenter, cook, writer, florist and businessperson.
What nationality is Sarah Raven?
Sarah Raven is British.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Sarah Raven. https://biography.guide/sarah-raven/
MLA: "Sarah Raven." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/sarah-raven/.
Chicago: "Sarah Raven." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/sarah-raven/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 Β· Spot an error? Report a correction.
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