Roodepoort horticulturist publishes career-spanning work
Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden's long-serving principal horticulturist co-authored what promises to become the standard reference on South African garden plants.
With 31 years of exceptional service to the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden (WSNBG) under his belt, principal horticulturist Andrew Hankey is one of the most widely respected naturalists around.
His passion for plants and flowers has not waned even a little in all that time as proven during a recent walk through the gardens with a Roodepoort Record journalist, which saw him frequently wandering off in the hopes of finding a growing thing that he has yet to encounter.
Even as a child Andrew would supplement his meagre pocket money by selling cacti that he dug out from his parents’ garden to his mom’s book club members.
Andrew began his career at WSNBG in 1993 as a junior horticulturist and has over the years contributed immensely to the development of the botanical gardens into one of the most beloved natural spaces in Roodepoort.
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His contributions to the scientific body of knowledge have been significant, having authored and co-authored around 180 articles and books. He’s also had a hand in naming around 20 new species, both on his own and as a member of a research team.
Andrew’s latest feat is a career-spanning book, co-authored with writer of numerous best-selling field guides on wild flowers and trees, botanist, Elsa Pooley, and renowned conservationist, horticulturist, researcher, and author, Geoff Nichols.
“It’s called South African Indigenous Garden Plants: The Gardener’s Guide, and we are very proud of it,” says Andrew.
The concept came into being while Andrew, at that stage planning to write a book on his own, was conducting research for the Fynbos section of the project.
“I was looking for a specialist since I am no expert on Fynbos. Geoff and Elsa were already working on a book at that point, and after we met and realised, we all had the same idea, we decided to merge it into one book. This meant that each section would be written by a specialist in that particular field.”
Twelve years in the making, the book is finally done and by all accounts is destined to become a standard reference for gardeners, horticulturists, nurserymen, landscapers and plant lovers.
