Robin Herbert, horticulturalist and banker, 1934-2024

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Robin Herbert was happiest among trees, particularly those that, unexceptional in spring, blaze in autumn: maples, liquidambar, carya. Transformation was his speciality, but he never rushed: whether in finance, horticulture or on woodland walks, he combined an immensely long stride with purposefulness. “On time is late,” he told his children. “Five minutes early is on time.” Late, of course, was unacceptable.

When Herbert, who has died aged 89, was elected president and chair of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1984, the coffers were empty and membership clustered in the home counties. A banker with years of experience at the National Trust and the Countryside Commission, Herbert brought a clear vision of the revolution required, and its timescale. Yes, he said to the ruling Council, he would hold office if voted in, but for no more than a decade. 

On his watch, the RHS acquired Rosemoor in Devon and Hyde Hall in Essex to complement its flagship garden at Wisley in Surrey, and launched new horticultural shows outside London.

With his treasurer, fellow financier Lawrence Banks, he returned the Society to the black and more than doubled membership to 189,000. Sure, there was a row when members no longer got Chelsea Flower Show tickets with their subscriptions, but it passed. The first Chelsea Gala evening in 1990 unlocked prestige and sponsorship. Soon, Herbert was the go-to man for every major horticultural institution: as Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew chair (1991-97), he disentangled them from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and, with Dame Jennifer Jenkins, he reformed the Royal Parks.

Through all this, plants were central. Business acumen was all very well, but what Herbert had most relished on first joining the RHS in the 1970s was debating the merits of the latest variety of Pittosporum or Sorbus with fellow…