About James Wong
James Wong is a Kew-trained botanist, an RHS Ambassador, science writer, multi award-winning garden designer and broadcaster, with The Sunday Times listing him as one of the Top 20 most influential people in horticulture.
James is half Malaysian and grew up in the jungles of Borneo, where his grandmother taught him about traditional medicine and fuelled his curiosity about plants.
He trained at Kew and then the University of Kent, graduating with a Master of Science degree in Ethnobotany (the study of how people use plants) in 2006. Field work research then took him to rural Ecuador, Java and China.
James is passionate about communicating plant science to his audiences and he has shared his knowledge through his best-selling books 'Grow Your Own Drugs' and 'Homegrown Revolution'. His television presenting work spans a range of BBC programmes, including the award-winning 'Grow Your Own Drugs’ and 'Great British Garden Revival', ‘Countryfile' as well as BBC Radio 4's ‘Gardeners' Question Time'.
His small London garden serves as a testing-station for all manner of crops and horticultural ideas from around the world, whilst his apartment is home to an enviable collection of thriving houseplants, that keep ‘the Botany Geek’ very happy.