The Hawaiian Border by Tony Howard

Tony Howard was born in the North East from a mining family, he joined the army when he was 16 and served 11 years with 3 Para. When he came out of the army he was a chef in a restaurant in London and then worked as a fund raiser for an Aids charity before moving to Hastings and volunteering in Christopher Lloyd’s garden at Great Dixter with Fergus Garrett and then gaining his qualifications as a horticulturalist. For 6 years he was the Head Gardener at Fairlight Hall in Sussex until this year when he started his own company, from Plot to Pot, a consultancy helping people grow their own vegetables in their own gardens.

For the Port Eliot Festival Tony has designed and planted up a new border for the Walled Garden. It is a mixed border (shrubs and annuals) recreating a Hawaiian sunset with prairie like perernnials and shrubs for structure. The perennials echinacea, helenium, veronicastrum, helianthus and miscanthus are woven amongst structured shrubs such as hydrangea, eleagnes and certis and some annuals supplied by Higgledy Garden co.

Tony will be appearing at the festival on the new Flower and Fodder Stage, talking on a panel on how to grow your own food and also will be popping up by his border throughout the course of the weekend to talk to aspiring gardeners.