David Hardman

A Kew Diploma graduate (1974-1977) he played an active role in the student union holding several offices: - Treasurer, Printing Secretary and as Cricket promoter re-established Kew’s legal right to use the cricket square for matches on Kew Green.

Local Authorities

During his period working for Local Authorities David held various senior officer roles at Stockport and Trafford MBC that included management of Competitive tendering in Client and Contractor roles. He also had responsibility for purchasing plants and materials, training and the recruitment of horticultural staff.

He played a major role in several large projects including the design and construction of a new Central Nursery complex at Stockport that received awards for its innovation and high energy efficiency that combined new technologies and maximised plant production savings. He also led the teams for the design, planning and installation of display gardens for Stockport MBC at the Liverpool International and Stoke National Garden Festivals.

Royal Botanic Gardens

Upon returning to RBG Kew as Deputy Curator in 1992 David held a range of responsibilities for projects in the garden, these included the restoration of The Japanese Gateway; the introduction of the Orchid Festival, design of the Lower Nursery and the construction of the Evolution House.

David was a member of the School of Horticulture Advisory Council and as the Deputy Curator enjoyed the opportunity to meet students to discuss their placement reports in the various sections of the garden. He also held advisory positions at Chelsea Physic Garden and Borde Hill Garden.  Another major role included undertaking a consultancy for the long-term retention of Kadoorie Botanic Garden in Hong Kong.

In 1997 he was appointed Head of Horticulture and Estate Management at Wakehurst Place just as the Millennium Seedbank Project was being proposed. 

The Kew Guild

At Wakehurst he championed the recognition of the Kew Guild and encouraged staff to join. To this end he organised three separate Annual General Meetings to be held at Wakehurst, these included visits to the Seedbank and other nearby gardens as part of a full weekend visit. Other visits have been arranged over the years for members. The most recent visit being a two-week trip in May 2025 to Italy to visit gardens, nurseries and other cultural attractions in the Tuscany region whilst meeting fellow Guild members and potential new members.

Taking advantage of working at Kew and Wakehurst he used this opportunity to be fully involved in Kew Guild business as a member of the Committee and Trustee leading several projects. As Guild Archives Officer he managed the Archive project to employ professional staff to organise the Guild’s Archive. This was followed with the website development project that later included organising the scanning of all the Guild journals to be made available online. David has been a member of the Guild’s Awards committee for many years.

David held the office of the Kew Guild President for 2014-2015 and took the initiative to introduce a ‘free’ Gardens entrance for the full day at Kew as part of the Annual Dinner.

With such a diverse range of roles David has been able to meet a wide range of people to promote the world of horticulture and encourage them in many different ways.

Upon receiving the George Brown Award, David said:

"This is a truly and completely unexpected honour and comes as a great surprise to me.

In receiving the George Brown Memorial Award I should like to thank all the people who have supported me and encouraged me in many different ways throughout my career. The Kew Guild has given me such incredible opportunities to meet so many amazing people, many of whom have become lifelong friends. It was a privilege and a great honour to be the Kew Guild President. I hope I have been able to reciprocate in some way for the generosity I have received from so many friends. Thank you."