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. They have become the best selling gardening books in history.theBookseller.com
Background Hessayon was the son of a Cypriot landowner, was born on 13 February 1928, and grew up in Salford, Lancashire, England. He gained a Bachelor of Science degree in botany from Leeds University. 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. 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. He lived in Essex, and died at a nearby hospital on 16 January 2025, at the age of 96.
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 () over 20 "Expert" titles in 22 languages and in Britain their sales continue to dominate the gardening paperback lists.Transworld The Vegetable & Herb Expert Amazon.co.uk: Vegetable and Herb Expert: D.G. Hessayon: Books continues to be the best seller.
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".
Despite a resolve to stay out of the limelight,Leader: Raking it in | Books | The Guardian Hessayon received further awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Garden Media Guild,GWG Awards: Press Room and three honorary doctorates.David Hessayon | Honorary graduations 2008 | Media | University of Leeds 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.United Kingdom:
Bibliography From 1959, Hessayon wrote many books.
+Other books by the authorTitleYear publishedISBN Potato Growers Handbook (with P G Fenemore) 1961 Silage Makers' Handbook (with Christopher Hugh Wood) 1962 The Garden Book of Europe 1973 The Armchair Book of the Garden 1983 The Bio Friendly Gardening Guide 1990 The Bedside Book of the Garden 2008
+Expert series of booksTitleYear publishedISBN 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 Be your own House Plant Spotter (with J. P. Hessayon) 1977 Be your own Vegetable Doctor 1978 Be your own Garden Doctor 1978 The House Plant Expert 1980 The Rose Expert 1981 The Cereal Disease Expert 1982 The Lawn Expert 1982 The Lawn Expert (reprinted) 1988 The Lawn Expert (reprinted) 1990 The Tree & Shrub Expert 1983 The Tree & Shrub Expert (reprinted) 1992 The Tree & Shrub Expert (reprinted) 1994 The Tree & Shrub Expert (reprinted) 2012 The Flower Expert 1984 The Flower Expert (reprinted) 1994 The Indoor Plant Spotter 1985 The Garden Expert 1986 The Garden Expert (reprinted) 1997 The Gold-Plated House Plant Expert 1987 The Home Expert 1987 Rose Jotter 1989 Vegetable Jotter 1989 Be your own Greenhouse Expert 1990 The Bedding Plant Expert 1991 The Bedding Plant Expert (reprinted) 1995 The New House Plant Expert 1991 The Vegetable Expert 1985 The Vegetable Expert (reprinted) 1993 The Garden DIY Expert 1992 The Rock & Water Garden Expert 1993 The Flower Arranging Expert 1994 The Flowering Shrub Expert 1994 The Greenhouse Expert 1994 The Bulb Expert 1995 The Container Expert 1995 The Container Expert (reprinted) 1998 The Easy-care Garden Expert 1996 The New Rose Expert 1996 The New Bedding Plant Expert 1996 The New Lawn Expert 1997 The New Vegetable & Herb Expert 1997 The New Vegetable & Herb Expert (revised) 2014 The Evergreen Expert 1998 The New Flower Expert 1999 The Pocket Flower Expert 2001 The Pocket Garden Troubles Expert 2001 The Pocket Tree & Shrub Expert 2001 The Pocket House Plant Expert 2002 The Pocket Vegetable Expert 2002 The Home DIY Expert 2003 The Fruit Expert 1990 The Fruit Expert (reprinted) 2003 The Garden Revival Expert 2004 The House Plant Expert - Book Two 2005 The Pest and Weed Expert 2007 The Orchid Expert 2008 The Orchid Expert (republished) 2010 The Green Garden Expert 2009 The Expert Vegetable Notebook 2009 The Best of Experts 2010 The Garden to Kitchen Expert (Judith Wills with D.G. Hessayon) 2011 The Complete Garden Expert 2012 The Indoor Plant & Flower Expert 2013 The New Fruit Expert 2015
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