experimentingwithplants.Atthe
ageof12,hecreateda rudimentary
versionofa plantwall,plantingf low-
ersona meshframealongthewalls
ofhisparents’gardenand,after
readinghowrootingplantsinwater
purifiesthemofnitrates,hecreated
a biologicalwater-filtrationsystem
forhisaquariaandgrewphiloden-
dronsupthewall.
Fascinatedbyplantsthatf lourish
withoutsoilandgrowinlowlight,
Blancwentontostudythisphe-
nomenonatthePierreandMarie
CurieUniversityinParis,dedicating
himselftostudyingtropicalplants.
HetravelledtoMalaysiaandThai-
landforthefirsttimeinthe1970sto
observefirst-handhowplantsgrow
onrocksorintheforestunderstorey.
Oneday,whena hideousnewwall
wasconstructedinfrontofhisliving
room,hewasinspiredtodevelopthe
conceptofa frost-resistantevergreen
wall,andsoimmersedhimselfinthe
f loraofthetemperatezones.
Witha PhDinnaturalsciences,he
has been a professor and researcherW
henSirDavidAttenboroughreopened
therestoredTemperateHouseatthe
RoyalBotanicGardens,Kew,inLondon
onMay3,2018,heremarked“thebest
gardenerisa goodbotanistandthebestbotanist
isa goodgardener”.Itisnecessarytohavean
understandingofbothdisciplines, if we are to have
a fullunderstandingofplants.Botanistsarenotjustscientists
whospendtheirlivesinlaboratories,
squintingdownmicroscopesatthe
cellsofplants– theyaretheexplor-
ers,thetrailblazersandtheinventors,
advancinga rangeoffieldsthrough
theirstudiesofthenaturalworld.
PatrickBlancisa left-fieldgenius
andmoderninnovatorofthe‘green
wall’.BorninFrancein1953,Blanc
ispartartist,partscientist,partland-
scapearchitect,andhisideashave
revolutionisedurbanarchitecture.
Blanc,whoisusuallydressedin
green,withgreenhairandgreen
nailvarnishononelongfingernail,
isaresearchbotanistspecialising
intropicalforests.Hehastravelled
theworld,studyingplantsandhab-
itatstodevelophisstyle.Fromshop
frontstohigh-risedwellingsanda
RobeVégétal(plantdress)forJean
PaulGaultier,thishorticulturalicon
hasbroughtnaturetothecity.
TEENINVENTOR
PatrickBlancbecamehookedon
botanyasateenager and beganREADER’S DIGEST30 March 2020