D. G. Hessayon
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David Gerald Hessayon OBE (13 February 1928 – 16 January 2025) was an English author and botanist who is known for a best-selling series of paperback gardening manuals known as the "Expert Guides" under his title Dr. D. G. Hessayon. The series started in 1958 with Be Your Own Gardening Expert and in 2008 it celebrated its 50th anniversary and the 50 millionth copy in print.[1] They have become the best selling gardening books in history.[2]
Background
Hessayon was the son of a Cypriot landowner, was born on 13 February 1928, and grew up in Salford, Lancashire, England.[3] He gained a Bachelor of Science degree in botany from Leeds University.[3] In 1950, he travelled to the United States where he worked as the editor of a small-town newspaper. In 1953, he went to the Gold Coast as a Research Fellow at the University College before returning to Manchester to obtain his doctorate in soil ecology.[3] In 1955, he accepted a position as chief scientist with Pan Britannica Industries Ltd (PBI), becoming chairman in 1972. It was whilst working for PBI that Hessayon formulated the idea for his "Expert" guides to gardening.
Hessayon and his wife, novelist Joan Parker Gray Hessayson (d. 2001), had two daughters.[3] He lived in Essex, and died at a nearby hospital on 16 January 2025, at the age of 96.[3][4][5]
The "Expert" guides
A steady stream of publications followed the initial Be Your Own Gardening Expert, each maintaining the basic formula of down-to-earth writing broken up into short sections with headers, and illustrated with what were at the time lavish numbers of colour photographs, graphic images and charts. In later editions the Be Your Own ...Expert titles were changed to The ... Expert. On the British bestsellers list for the 1980s, two Experts were in the Top 10. There are (since 2009[update]Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".) over 20 "Expert" titles in 22 languages and in Britain their sales continue to dominate the gardening paperback lists.[6] The Vegetable & Herb Expert [7] continues to be the best seller.
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Recognition
In 1993, Hessayon received the first-ever Lifetime Achievement award at the British Book Awards. He was also awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1992 for his contribution to the advancement and improvement of the science and practice of horticulture. In 1999, he was awarded a Guinness World Records certificate for being Britain's "bestselling non-fiction author of the 1990s".Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Despite a resolve to stay out of the limelight,[9] Hessayon received further awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Garden Media Guild,[10] and three honorary doctorates.[11] In the 2007 New Year Honours, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to gardening and to charity.[12]
Bibliography
From 1959, Hessayon wrote many books.
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| Title | Year published | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Potato Growers Handbook (with P G Fenemore) | 1961 | |
| Silage Makers' Handbook (with Christopher Hugh Wood) | 1962 | |
| The Garden Book of Europe | 1973 | Template:ISBN |
| The Armchair Book of the Garden | 1983 | Template:ISBN |
| The Bio Friendly Gardening Guide | 1990 | Template:ISBN |
| The Bedside Book of the Garden | 2008 | Template:ISBN |
| Title | Year published | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Be your own Gardening Expert | 1959 | |
| Be your own Gardening Expert (republished) | 1961 | |
| Be your own Gardening Expert | 1959 | |
| Be your own Gardening Expert (republished) | 1961 | |
| Be your own House Plant Expert | 1961 | |
| Be your own House Plant Expert (revised) | 1967 | |
| Be your own Lawn Expert | 1961 | |
| Be your own Lawn Expert (revised) | 1968 | |
| Be your own Rose Expert (with Harry Wheatcroft) | 1965 | |
| Vegetable Plotter | 1976 | Template:ISBN |
| Be your own House Plant Spotter (with J. P. Hessayon) | 1977 | Template:ISBN |
| Be your own Vegetable Doctor | 1978 | Template:ISBN |
| Be your own Garden Doctor | 1978 | Template:ISBN |
| The House Plant Expert | 1980 | Template:ISBN |
| The Rose Expert | 1981 | Template:ISBN |
| The Cereal Disease Expert | 1982 | Template:ISBN |
| The Lawn Expert | 1982 | Template:ISBN |
| The Lawn Expert (reprinted) | 1988 | Template:ISBN |
| The Lawn Expert (reprinted) | 1990 | Template:ISBN |
| The Tree & Shrub Expert | 1983 | Template:ISBN |
| The Tree & Shrub Expert (reprinted) | 1992 | Template:ISBN |
| The Tree & Shrub Expert (reprinted) | 1994 | Template:ISBN |
| The Tree & Shrub Expert (reprinted) | 2012 | Template:ISBN |
| The Flower Expert | 1984 | Template:ISBN |
| The Flower Expert (reprinted) | 1994 | Template:ISBN |
| The Indoor Plant Spotter | 1985 | Template:ISBN |
| The Garden Expert | 1986 | Template:ISBN |
| The Garden Expert (reprinted) | 1997 | Template:ISBN |
| The Gold-Plated House Plant Expert | 1987 | Template:ISBN |
| The Home Expert | 1987 | Template:ISBN |
| Rose Jotter | 1989 | Template:ISBN |
| Vegetable Jotter | 1989 | Template:ISBN |
| Be your own Greenhouse Expert | 1990 | Template:ISBN |
| The Bedding Plant Expert | 1991 | Template:ISBN |
| The Bedding Plant Expert (reprinted) | 1995 | Template:ISBN |
| The New House Plant Expert | 1991 | Template:ISBN |
| The Vegetable Expert | 1985 | Template:ISBN |
| The Vegetable Expert (reprinted) | 1993 | Template:ISBN |
| The Garden DIY Expert | 1992 | Template:ISBN |
| The Rock & Water Garden Expert | 1993 | Template:ISBN |
| The Flower Arranging Expert | 1994 | Template:ISBN |
| The Flowering Shrub Expert | 1994 | Template:ISBN |
| The Greenhouse Expert | 1994 | Template:ISBN |
| The Bulb Expert | 1995 | Template:ISBN |
| The Container Expert | 1995 | Template:ISBN |
| The Container Expert (reprinted) | 1998 | Template:ISBN |
| The Easy-care Garden Expert | 1996 | Template:ISBN |
| The New Rose Expert | 1996 | Template:ISBN |
| The New Bedding Plant Expert | 1996 | Template:ISBN |
| The New Lawn Expert | 1997 | Template:ISBN |
| The New Vegetable & Herb Expert | 1997 | Template:ISBN |
| The New Vegetable & Herb Expert (revised) | 2014 | Template:ISBN |
| The Evergreen Expert | 1998 | Template:ISBN |
| The New Flower Expert | 1999 | Template:ISBN |
| The Pocket Flower Expert | 2001 | Template:ISBN |
| The Pocket Garden Troubles Expert | 2001 | Template:ISBN |
| The Pocket Tree & Shrub Expert | 2001 | Template:ISBN |
| The Pocket House Plant Expert | 2002 | Template:ISBN |
| The Pocket Vegetable Expert | 2002 | Template:ISBN |
| The Home DIY Expert | 2003 | Template:ISBN |
| The Fruit Expert | 1990 | Template:ISBN |
| The Fruit Expert (reprinted) | 2003 | Template:ISBN |
| The Garden Revival Expert | 2004 | Template:ISBN |
| The House Plant Expert - Book Two | 2005 | Template:ISBN |
| The Pest and Weed Expert | 2007 | Template:ISBN |
| The Orchid Expert | 2008 | Template:ISBN |
| The Orchid Expert (republished) | 2010 | Template:ISBN |
| The Green Garden Expert | 2009 | Template:ISBN |
| The Expert Vegetable Notebook | 2009 | Template:ISBN |
| The Best of Experts | 2010 | Template:ISBN |
| The Garden to Kitchen Expert (Judith Wills with D.G. Hessayon) | 2011 | Template:ISBN |
| The Complete Garden Expert | 2012 | Template:ISBN |
| The Indoor Plant & Flower Expert | 2013 | Template:ISBN |
| The New Fruit Expert | 2015 | Template:ISBN |
Notes
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- ↑ Amazon.co.uk: Vegetable and Herb Expert: D.G. Hessayon: Books
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- ↑ Leader: Raking it in | Books | The Guardian
- ↑ GWG Awards: Press Room Template:Webarchive
- ↑ David Hessayon | Honorary graduations 2008 | Media | University of Leeds Template:Webarchive
- ↑ United Kingdom: Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".Script error: No such module "London Gazette util".
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- Pages with script errors
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- 1928 births
- 2025 deaths
- English gardeners
- Veitch Memorial Medal recipients
- English people of Greek Cypriot descent
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- English garden writers
- Gardens in the United Kingdom
- Alumni of the University of Leeds
- English expatriates in the United States
- British expatriates in Ghana
- Writers from Manchester
- 20th-century English male writers
- 21st-century English male writers
- Alumni of the University of Manchester