Your RHS Trustees
Council comprises the President, Treasurer, 15 members – all of whom are elected by the RHS membership - and up to two co-opted members.
President: Giles Coode-Adams OBE DL
(Elected to Council 2002; Elected as Treasurer 2006; Appointed President December 2008)
Giles became President in December 2008. He is currently Chairman of the Gardens Advisory Committee and a member of the Fundraising Sub Committee, Woody Plant Committee, Business Committee, Investments Sub-Committee, Pensions Sub-Committee, Remunerations Sub Committee, Contracts with Trustees and Connected Parties Committee and the Nominations and Appointments Committee. Giles is also the Portfolio Holder for RHS Gardens and a Director of the RHS Enterprises Limited.
Giles has a background in Finance and was the Managing Director of the American Investment Bank Lehman Brothers, from which he retired in 1999. Giles spent six years running the Foundation at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and was one of the Founders of the Millennium Seed Bank. Giles and his wife Sonia have a garden in Essex which they open to the public. He is passionate about gardening and has a particular interest in woody plants.
Treasurer: Andrew Sells
(Elected to Council 2008; Appointed Treasurer December 2009)
Andrew Sells became the Society’s Treasurer in December 2008 taking over from Giles Coode-Adams.
Andrew has served as a trustee of the RHS since 2003 and is currently Chairman of the Business Committee, Contracts with Trustees and Connected Parties, Investments Sub-Committee, Pensions Sub-Committee, Remuneration Sub-Committee and RHS Special Events Limited. Andrew is also a member of the Nominations and Appointments Committee.
Andrew’s background is a chartered accountant by training. He spent 20 years in the venture capital industry and until 2007 was the chairman of Linden Homes. At his home in Wiltshire he has planted several thousand trees in the last 10 years and recently started a small pinetum.
Other Members of Council
George Anderson MBE
(Elected to Council in 2006; will retire at the AGM in 2012)
George is Chairman of the Qualifications and Advisory Committee and member of the Qualifications Advisory Board. George is also the Portfolio Holder for Qualifications.
George is a plantsman and avid horticulturist having been involved in gardening and horticulture all his life. George is a keen practical gardener and allotment holder and is very concerned with the need for practical skills to be passed on to the next generation of gardeners before it is too late and they are lost. He is also a senior RHS examiner and guest presenter on The Beechgrove Garden (produced by Tern Television) George is also the president of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society.
Sir Nicholas Bacon Bt DL
(Elected to Council in 2008; will retire at the AGM in 2013)
Sir Nicholas is a member of the Business Committee.
Sir Nicholas owns and runs Raveningham Hall Estate in Norfolk which is a family garden, open for 80 days a year specialising in galanthus, euphorbias, and agapanthus. He is also Chairman of the East of England Regional Committee of the National Trust, a Further Education college specialising in horticulture, an artistic festival and various other rural based organisations.
Michael Balston
(Re-elected to Council in 2006; will retire at the AGM in 2011)
Michael is a member of the Shows Advisory Committee, the Shows Gardens Sub-Committee, the Gardens Advisory Committee and an RHS Judge. Michael is also the Garden Advisor for Wisley.
Michael is a qualified landscape architect and has his own design practice, Balston & Company, designing and managing country gardens and estates, as well as smaller town gardens. At home in Wiltshire he has created an extensive garden which doubles as his working laboratory and has been widely featured in the gardening press. Michael is also on the Landscape Working Group for Europa Nostra.
Elizabeth Banks DL, CMLI
(Elected to Council in 2007; will retire at the AGM in 2012)
Elizabeth is Chairman of the Picture Advisory Committee, member of the Gardens Advisory Committee, the Nominations and Appointments Committee, and the Show Gardens Sub-Committee. Elizabeth is also an RHS Judge at Shows and a Garden Advisor for Hyde Hall.
Elizabeth is a landscape architect. Along with her husband Lawrence Banks, who is a Vice President of the Society, she manages the Hergest Estate and Hergest Croft Gardens which extend to over 70 acres. Elizabeth is a local councillor and trustee of several other charities including the Gateway Gardens Trust and chairman of the Queenswood Coronation Fund. She is also a member of the Arboreta Advisory Committee for Westonbirt Arboretum and Bedgebury Pinetum.
Nigel Colborn (Vice-Chairman of Council)
(Re-elected to Council 2007; will retire at the AGM in 2012)
Nigel offers a wealth of horticultural knowledge and experience to the RHS from his career in television and radio. Nigel was a presenter of the BBC’s Gardeners’ World in the late 80s and has judged for the BBC Gardener of the Year broadcast. He has co-presented the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show Special on BBC television and has been a regular guest over the years on programmes such as The Cook's Garden and Garden Club Question Time as well as How Does Your Garden Grow for UK Style. Nigel is the garden writer for the Daily Mail. For seven years he was a regular panel member of BBC Radio 4’s Gardener’s Question Time.
Nigel serves as Chairman of the Tender Ornamental Plant Committee, Trials Advisory Committee and the Awards Advisory Committee. He is also a member of the Gardens Advisory Committee, Business Committee, Plant Committee Co-ordinating Committee, Contracts with Trustees and Connected Parties Committee and is the Portfolio Holder for Horticulture.
Raymond Evison OBE VMH
(Re-elected to Council 2007; will retire at the AGM in 2012)
Raymond is Chairman of the Woody Plant Committee. He is one of the Society’s Vice Presidents and a holder of the Victoria Medal of Honour.
Raymond is the owner of The Guernsey Clematis Nursery Ltd and Raymond J. Evison Ltd, and a nurseryman and breeder, international horticultural exhibitor, judge, lecturer, author and photographer. In 1984, he formed the International Clematis Society and was its first President. He has bred or introduced over 100 clematis plants to gardeners and was awarded the RHS Reginald Cory Cup in 2004 for his work with clematis. As an exhibitor he has received numerous RHS Gold medals and annual awards. His experience as an RHS Shows Judge dates from 1985.
Professor John MacLeod
(Re-elected to Council 2006; will retire at the AGM in 2010)
John is Vice Chairman of Council and Chairman of the Science & Horticultural Advice Committee and the Nominations and Appointments Committee. He is member of the Business Committee and the Contracts with Trustees and Connected Parties Committee. John is the Portfolio Holder for Science and Education and a Garden Advisor for Hyde Hall. He is also an RHS Shows Judge.
Since childhood in the Outer Hebrides John has been involved in practical biology; field and laboratory research; development programmes; and communication. Educated at the University of Glasgow and Michigan State University. He was appointed Director of the National Institute of Agricultural Botany, Cambridge, in 1990, a scientific charity established to improve agriculture and horticulture through research, services and information. His background of scientific, strategic and organisational management, linked with communication has been particularly helpful.
Jekka McVicar
(Elected to Council 2005; will retire at the AGM in 2010)
Jekka is a member of the Fruit, Vegetable and Herb Committee, the Fundraising Sub-Committee, the Conservation and Environment Advisory Committee and the Three Counties Agricultural Society Joint Committee. She is also an RHS Shows Judge
Jekka is renowned for her Herb Farm in Alveston, Bristol. She is committed to organic horticulture and has been certified by the Soil Association. Jekka has achieved great success as an exhibitor, having won 13 Gold Medals at Chelsea and 61 Gold Medals in total. She was also awarded the Best Floral Exhibit at Hampton Court in 2007 and 2008. Jekka has written four books and is a regular contributor to national horticultural magazines.
David Morrison
(Re-elected to Council 2008; will retire at the AGM in 2013)
David is Chairman of RHS Enterprises Limited. He is also a member of the Business Committee and is the Portfolio Holder for Publications and Online.
As Chairman of the board of RHS Enterprises, David oversees the
Society’s plant centres, shops, publications, events, catering and licensing activities.
In his professional career, David has been involved in Investment Management, where the financing and development of companies in a range of industrial sectors, has provided him with a wealth of experience in issues related to business and financial management, corporate governance and strategic direction.
Sandy Muirhead
(Re-Elected to Council 2009; will retire at the AGM in 2013)
Sandy is a member of the Business Committee, the Investments Sub-Committee, the Pensions Sub-Committee and the Herbaceous Plant Committee.
Sandy is a chartered accountant and is a founder partner of a leading private equity firm, Phoenix, which provides capital to support the growth and development of medium-sized UK companies.
Sandy is passionate about gardening and, with his wife, has spent the last 16 years creating an eight acre garden from scratch.
Dougal Philip
(Re - Elected to Council 2009; will retire at the AGM in 2014)
Dougal is Chairman of the Shows Advisory Committee. He is also a member of the Business Committee and the Contracts with Trustees and Connected Parties Committee and is the Portfolio Holder for Shows.
Dougal has established and run his own garden centre outside Edinburgh for over 30 years and is a former President and long-time supporter of the Horticultural Trades Association. Dougal has experience of designing and building show gardens and now acts as a judge and moderator at RHS Shows.
Prunella Scarlett LVO
(Re-elected to Council 2005; will retire at the AGM in 2010)
Prunella is a member of the Contracts with Trustees and Connected Parties Committee, the Fundraising Sub-Committee and the Herbaceous Plant Committee.
Prunella has also previously contributed to the Society is the areas of education and as Chairman of the Nominations Committee. Her professional employment was with the Royal Commonwealth Society, where she served as Director, Commonwealth Affairs. Prunella has also served as Chairman or Board member on several international charities.
Richard Webb DL
(Re-elected to Council 2005; will retire at the AGM in 2010)
Richard is Chairman of the Plant Committee Co-ordinating Committee and the Herbaceous Plant Committee. He is also a member of the Audit Committee, Awards Advisory Committee and the Three Counties Agricultural Society Joint Committee.
Richard was Chairman of Webbs of Wychbold, a large garden centre
in Worcestershire with display gardens, containing a National Collection of potentilla fruticosa. Webbs nursery division grows shrubs and perennials for distribution to the independent Garden Centre market.
Richard has experience of exhibiting and was involved in the design of three Gold Medal winning small gardens at Chelsea. He now judges and moderates at RHS Shows.
Christopher Blundell
(Elected to Council 2009; will retire at AGM 2014)
Christopher has considerable knowledge and experience both of marketing and fundraising. Christopher is a strong supporter of RHS Garden Harlow Carr and the Society’s education programme.
Mark Fane
(Elected to Council 2009; will retire at AGM 2014)
Mark is a Director of RHS Enterprises and also a RHS Show Judge.
Mark is a grower and retailer of plants and in 2000 he helped establish Crocus.co.uk, which is now the UK’s leading gardening internet business. He has built 17 show gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show; and these gardens have received 14 gold medals and six best in show awards.