DG Hessayon is widely recognized as the world's best-selling horticultural writer, but many people outside of the UK may not recognize his name. But at home, he was Agatha Christie of the genre.
Like Christie's Whodunits, Dr. Hessayon's book followed a strict formula. And like Christie, he got into the spotlight.
“I'm too round, too short and too fat, to start off,” he told The Guardian in 1999.
Still, he was, in his own unpleasant way, a star-based suburban gardener. Margaret Thatcher was a fan.
Starting with “Be Your Own Gardening Expert” (1959), Dr. Hessayon (pronounced Hessayon) published about 60 books, not including a revised edition. They marched reliably through a single topic: roses, orchids, potatoes, bulbs, vegetables, flowers, fruits, houseplants, lawns, trees and shrubs, greenhouses, container gardens. There were books on pests and weeds, and books dedicated to grain diseases.
His works were descriptive, normative, comprehensive, encyclopedia and exhaustive, and written in the meaningless tone that some call bosses. The Guardian once said that the appearance of his book, which he himself designed, could be best characterized as a '1980 East German tourist pamphlet', but it's not lively.'
But for a gardener and a complete beginner, his horticultural attitude, detailed illustrations, and clear style – best summed with “not this, but to do so” – was from God. Sampled advice on how to dig out from the section “The New Flower Expert” (1999) includes “Wearing stout shoes.” “Driving the spade vertically. Push down the blade (don't kick it), and “For most people, 30 minutes of digging is enough on the first day.”
“The real secret of my work is that people feel at ease,” he said. “I'm writing for a half-detached guy.”
Dr. Hesseyon died on January 16th in 1996 at a hospital in southeastern England. Near his home in Essex, it is a 20-acre Georgia home where most of the thousands of plant varieties he wrote were built.
His daughter, Angelina Gibbs, confirmed his death, but it was not reported until late February at the request of his family.
By 2008, it was estimated that half of the UK households had at least one of Dr. Hesseyon's books. After his death, his sales exceeded 50 million copies. For most of his career, however, he worked for a day as an executive at Panbritanica Industries, a manufacturer of garden and agricultural chemicals.
Dr. Hessayon started out as a chemist there. He was the inventor and chairman of the company's bestselling plant food, Baby Bio. He was a bit of a dictator by his own admission.
When he had the idea for a gardening manual in the late 1950s, he asked the company to publish it. The first print of 100,000 copies of “Be Your Own Gardening Expert” was described with a stolen example of 50's manliness, a surprising example of a pipe clenched into the jaw of his lantern, and sold out quickly. The book will continue to sell nearly 6 million copies.
His second book, “Become an expert in your own home plants” (1960), was said to be the best-selling reference book of all time after the Bible.
David Gerald Hesseyon was born on February 13, 1928 in Salford, Manchester, northwest England, and was the youngest of seven children, Leah (fisherman) Hesseyon and Jacques Hesseyon, a watchmaker who moved from Cyprus. The family was poor, and after David's mother died when he was young, his father raised only his children.
“His love for life was this little plot with four square beds, eight lilies and several hydrangeas,” Dr. Heyon said of his father in a 2012 interview with the British newspaper The Standard. “From a very young age, he wasn't in good health, so it was my job to look after this little plot.”
He studied botany and chemistry from Leeds University in West Yorkshire, graduating in 1950 with a Ph.D. He was awarded soil ecology at the University of Manchester in 1954. He joined Britannica's bread the following year and remained in the company until he retired in 1993.
In 2007, Dr. Hesseyon was appointed officer of the British Empire's finest order. (JK Rowling was awarded her in 2000.)
In addition to Mr Gibbs, Dr. Heyon is survived by another daughter, Jackie Hesseyon. Four grandchildren. and four great grandchildren. His wife, Joanne (Parker Gray) Hessayon, a novelist of romances where gardening often involves horticulture, passed away in 2001.
Dr. Hesseyon could be thorny and dogmatic, but his gross attitude hidden his generous nature. He was a council member of Capel Manor, London's Horticultural University. It was his idea that Mrs Thatcher strongly supported. The school created 34 demonstration gardens for what he called “practical gardeners,” former university principal Steve Doubigin said in an interview.
“They wanted to empower the majority of gardeners, not the Gertrude Jekyll Garden and those who cost £1 million,” he continued, referring to designers at British estate gardens in the 20th century. (Mrs. Thatcher presided over the opening of the garden on a rainy day in 1991. When the sun came out, she declared, “Oh, you see the sun shines on the righteous.”
When the university needed money for the new building, Dr. Daubigin said Dr. Hesseyon quietly stepped in and offered a profitless loan of £60,000. He also quietly paid all staff for two months in 1993 when the university was independent.
“You must really love Capel,” recalls Dr. Doubigin saying.
“Joan loves Capel,” Dr. Hessayon corrected him. “And I love Jaune.”
In 2013, when Dr. Hessayon was 85 years old, he announced that he would not create any more gardening guides. “You should give up,” he said, “I still remember what your name is.”
