James Miller | Plant Records Officer, Sheffield Botanical Gardens

James Miller, Plant Records Officer at Sheffield Botanical Gardens in Sheffield, UK, is an enthusiastic horticulturist, IrisBG user, and teammate. His upbeat personality and smile are contagious. Just recently, he and his colleagues were recognized at the RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival for their Garden, ‘Winds of Change’. We thought this would be a great time to learn more about James and share his accomplishments with the greater IrisBG community. 

Can you share a few of your proudest/ most meaningful career achievements? 

Whilst working at RHS Garden Wisley, I have had the opportunity to develop some exciting new planting schemes and help select plants for the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM). I also created a new National Plant Collection of Astilbe (false goat’s beard), bred by the German nurseryman Georg Arends.

At Sheffield Botanical Gardens, I am proud of my work with the National Plant Collections. We hold three: Diervilla, Sarcococca, and Weigela. Much work is still to be done, but their curation is going well. In the future (although this is technically outside my remit as a Plants Records Officer), I would love to help add missing taxa to these important collections.

When I was 15, I started my first job at Olivers Nurseries, a local garden center. This job which set me on the track for my career in horticulture. 

Which garden tool/aid could you not live without?
As a Plant Records Officer, the answer would have to be IrisBG. As a horticulturist, I couldn’t live without my Felco 7 Secateurs (with the rotating handle) and my hori-hori garden knife.

Who do you look to for inspiration or mentorship in the Horticulture world?
I look up to Beth Chatto and Roy Lancaster, two fantastic plants-people, and humans in general. I have a few mentors: Fergus Garrett, Tom Massey, and my Grandma. Garrett, Great Dixter's head gardener, taught me much about the craftsmanship and art of gardening. I also learned much about garden design from Tom Massey. 

Do you have a favorite IrisBG function?
I really enjoy uploading tours that our volunteers help create. I love that IrisBG allows audio files to be uploaded, making the tours as accessible as possible.

I find the recorded ‘Coffee Chats’ on the IrisBG Website extremely useful because it makes me feel connected to the wider plant records community.

We recently saw you and your colleagues featured on Gardener's World. So cool! Can you tell us more about that project? Working with Marko Yau and Saachi Parasrampuria to co-design our RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival Garden, ‘Winds of Change’ was fantastic. I was pleased our garden received recognition, winning a Gold Medal and Best in Category Award. This garden design was intended to raise awareness about the importance of climate resilience for coastal communities. 

The resilient planting also aimed to capture the beauty and vulnerability of the coastal community, Jaywick Sands, on the North Essex coast. The planting palette was selected to be wind, salt, and drought-tolerant. The intention of the beach-combed recycled materials and fly-tipped objects for the garden's design is to provoke thought and draw attention to sustainability, resilience, and the challenges coastal communities like Jaywick Sands face due to the climate crisis.
The color scheme reflected a unique coastal location. If some projections are correct, Essex is the driest county in the UK, and it is set to get dryer in the future. Jaywick Sands is particularly vulnerable to climate change because it lies below sea level, and the community has faced various social and economic challenges over recent decades. Despite this, the locals are upbeat and foster a strong community spirit.

Shoreline plants colonize these coastal found objects. Sea grasses such as Leymus arenarius ‘Blue Dune’, saltbush, Atriplex halimus, Mediterranean subshrubs such as Pseudodictamnus mediterraneus and succulents like Yucca ssp. form the structural backbone.

A multi-stem Arbutus unedo was selected for climate resilience. Fleshy, succulent and silver-leaved perennials, Sedum ssp., white sea thrift Armeria maritima 'Alba' and sea kale, Crambe maritima, reflect the coastal spirit of place. Four taxa of Eryngium were added to the seaside atmosphere. Native and non-native plants, known to grow in the local area and found materials, unique to the site were dispersed amongst planting to reflect the Jaywick shoreline.

‘Winds of Change’ was sponsored by Galloper Wind Farm, located in the North Essex & Suffolk Coast in the UK's North Sea. We are thankful for the guidance that renowned designer and our mentor, Tom Massey, offered during this project. 

Following Hampton Court, the ‘Winds of Change’ garden was relocated to the entrance of Sea Way off, Tamarisk Way in Jaywick Sands, adjacent to the new Sunspot covered market. The relocation site is Brownfield land ["Brownfield" refers to a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance.]. Tendring District Council has been very supportive of the project and they will help manage the maintenance of the garden now and for the future. Also, the charity Jaywick Sands Community Forum has given invaluable help planting the garden at Jaywick and will take ownership along with the Council.

‘Winds of Change’ is an exciting long-term project, and I am excited to watch the garden grow and be enjoyed by residents.