EVERYTHING is coming up roses for Bolton TV gardener Roy Lancaster after he was awarded an OBE in the New Year honours list.

Roy, who was born in Bolton and worked for Bolton parks department for three years after leaving school, says he was "delighted and thrilled" to receive the honour for services to horticulture.

Roy is now one of the country's best known plant experts and broadcasters and lives in Hampshire with his wife Sue.

He learned he was to receive the OBE in a letter which arrived at his home in November as he was packing to go to America on a lecture tour.

"I couldn't really take it in - not until I was on the plane," he said.

Roy says he had never thought about the possibility of getting such an award and was just glad to be doing a job he loved.

"I have always considered myself lucky to be involved with plants. We in the profession think it is the greatest in the world," he said.

"It is a subject very few people are not involved with in some way and it brings so much happiness and contentment to people."

Roy's love of plants developed as a child when the Castle Hill School pupil used to wander the countryside surrounding Bolton searching for wild flowers and birds.

After leaving school at the age of 15 he went to work for Bolton's parks department before being called up for National Service at the age of 18.

Serving with the infantry in Malaya helped develop his plant hunting skills and he collected more than 1,000 species of plants, one of which had never been discovered before.

After being demobbed he returned to Bolton for a short time before moving to the University Botanic Garden, Cambridge and then on to the famous Hillier and Sons nursery, Hampshire, eventually becoming the curator of their gardens and arboretum.

Since then he has undertaken many plant hunting expeditions all over the world, has written hundreds of articles and several books and become a broadcaster.

Roy, 61, is still waiting for a date to receive his medal at Buckingham Palace where he will be accompanied by wife Sue, 19-year-old son Edward and 16-year-old daughter Holly.

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