The Honourable (Wyndham) George Plumptre (born 24 April 1956) is chief executive of the

National Gardens Scheme The National Garden Scheme opens privately owned gardens in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and the Channel Islands on selected dates for charity. It was founded in 1927 with the aim of "opening gardens of quality, character and interest to th ...

. He is an expert on gardens and has been an author, journalist, including gardening correspondent for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' (1993–96). The son of FitzWalter Brook Plumptre, 21st Lord FitzWalter, by his wife Margaret Melesina, sister of the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician, soldier and journalist

Bill Deedes William Francis Deedes, Baron Deedes, (1 June 1913 – 17 August 2007) was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, army officer and journalist. He was the first person in Britain to have been both a member of the Cabinet and ...

, later created Baron Deedes, and younger brother of Julian Brook Plumptre, 22nd Lord FitzWalter, Plumptre was raised at the family home,

Goodnestone Park Goodnestone Park is a stately home and gardens in the southern part of the village of Goodnestone, Dover, Kent. It is approximately from Canterbury. The palladian house was built in 1704 by Brook Bridges, 1st Baronet. His grandson, Brook Bridg ...

, at

Goodnestone, Dover __NOTOC__ Goodnestone is a village and civil parish in the Dover district of Kent, England. The village is situated approximately east-southeast from the city of Canterbury, and west-southwest from Sandwich. The civil parish also contains the ...

, then educated at

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, and ...

and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

(B.A. 1978). A writer since 1980, Plumptre is a contributor to '' Country Life'', ''

Homes & Gardens ''Homes & Gardens'' is a British monthly interior design and garden design magazine published by Future plc Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that sp ...

'', ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', and other publications. He has written numerous books about gardening, including ''Collins Book of British Gardens'' (1985), ''The Latest Country Garden'' (1988), ''Garden Ornament'' (1989), ''Classic Planting and Royal Gardens'' (2005) and ''The English Country House Garden'' (2014)- and cricket, including ''Back Page Cricket'' (1987), ''Homes of Cricket'' (1988) and ''The Golden Age of Cricket'' (1989). He also produced a biography of King Edward VII, published in 1995. From 1993 to 1996, alongside his other activities Plumptre was gardening correspondent for ''The Times''; in 1999 he founded Greenfingers, now the UK's largest online-only garden specialist. In 2011, Plumptre became chief executive of the National Gardens Scheme, which opens gardens to the public to raise money for charity. Currently it donates £3m annually, principally to nursing and health charities, of which it is the most significant funder in the UK. In 1984 Plumptre married Alexandra Cantacuzene-Speransky; they have two sons and a daughter. They were divorced in 2008. In 2010 Plumptre married Annabel Williams.

References

External links

The Hon. Wyndham George Plumptre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plumptre, George 1956 births People educated at Radley College Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge English gardeners English male journalists English male non-fiction writers Living people Cricket historians and writers People from Goodnestone, Dover