Christopher Grey-Wilson was a botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for 22 years. He has edited Curtis’s Botanical Magazine and The Plantsman in the past, and today The Alpine Gardener. He is the author of numerous books including Guide to the Flowers of Western China and The Rock Garden Plant Primer, and has been awarded five gold medals by the Royal Horticultural Society. In 2007 he was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s highest accolade, a Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH).