John B Edmonds dies aged 85
John B Edmonds, a leading light in the agricultural and horticultural world, died after a long illness on Friday 8th January. He was 85.
He was father to Nicci Gow of Fresh @ Burcot Garden Centre. Her husband Neil writes: -
“While not known to many in the horticultural retail field of today the work John was doing back in the 1960's, 70 and 80's with growing plants in containers and at Bransford Nurseries set many of the trends still being followed today.”
The picture show a page from nurseryman’s bible, “Container Plant Manual” written in 1980, one of the leading authority books written by John B Edmonds when the trade was still learning how to grow plants in pots that would make garden centres the year round business they are today.
Neil Gow continues, “He was a leading light in the agricultural and horticultural world, being NFU country chairman and setting up one of the first regional HTA groups with Mike Dunnett. Johns' innovative thinking, along with many others like Eddy Topping, Dave Gilchrist and Peter Seabrook still shapes much of what we know today.
“The processes of growing plants to a retail standard needed innovation as well as tenacity and often those processes required 'invention'. That was where Johns' engineering ability also came into play constructing things from 4 wheel nursery trailers to conveyor belts and sand beds to potting machines.”