Jamie Butterworth is the rising star of gardening. Backed by Monty Don, who he designed a dog garden with at Chelsea 2025, and long lauded by the RHS, the Yorkshire lad, 31 this September, has been high profile in horticulture since he was a teen BBC Young Gardener of the Year contestant.
He studied at Askham Bryan, then RHS Wisley, and won the favour of RHS director general Sue Biggs, who promoted his career via RHS shows (he has already done 15 RHS show gardens) and as an RHS 'Ambassador'.
Butterworth showed his mettle by broadcasting on early hours local radio back then, and continues to present a never-say-no charm with his Form Plants business and numerous high-profile design jobs and media appearances.
He has written a previous book, about unkillable plants, and has an everyman ethos in What Grows Together, this 222pp hardback DK-published guide 'for every garden'.
The publisher/Jamie cites a fellow Jamie, Oliver, as a role model, for his "ease and brilliance" and now speaks of "years of experience", moving on from the 'youthful' angle used up to now.
Radio Two's Jo Whiley also backs the book, which features 60+ seasonal combinations of Oliver-style 'ingredients' to 'brighten up spaces'.
For instance, his favourite shrub is Calycanthus 'Aphrodite', which goes with Penstemon 'Pensham Plum Jerkum' and Hokonechioa macra for a summer claret impact.
There's lots of reassuring garden design-y speak about plants knitting together, layers, blankets, palettes and weaves. This all adds up to a detailed and useful guide to planting design.
Jamie Butterworth is here to stay and will become a lovable and increasingly prominent presence in the media for decades to come.
