 His family moved to Broxbourne in Hertfordshire when he was two, and his interest in horticulture was nurtured initially by working on the family's back garden.He expanded his knowledge still further by helping out at local nurseries during the school holidays – mainly at the Van Hage Nursery at the end of his road.He went on to Writtle Agricultural College in Essex where, in 1959, he passed the National Diploma in Horticulture with distinction.