"Easy-to-follow advice and information you can trust" is the tagline from the Expert series, and honestly, the chances of you never encountering one of these books are pretty slim.
These books have been around since 1958, with the latest released in 2015. That's 28 titles in almost 60 years – quite a collection!
Dr David Gerald Hessayon has written lots of books about houseplants - Photo by Congerdesign
However, the chances that you've seen the actual author, Dr. D. G. Hessayon, are far less likely. Consistently shunning the spotlight, he prefered the focus to remain on his books rather than himself.
Born in 1928, David Gerald Hessayon grew up in Manchester, England. He attended Leeds University, where he earned a degree in Botany, and later a PhD in soil ecology. He began his career as a scientist at Pan Britannica Industries, and was later awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society and an OBE in 2007. He died in January 2025, at the age of 96.
They are the best selling gardening books in history and today still take up proud residence in many a bookcase
The practice of keeping plants indoors is a fascinating story in itself (one I'll explore in a later article). What's truly remarkable, however, is that until Dr. Hessayon began writing in the 1950s, there were very few quality gardening books available.
Existing gardening books did not sell particularly well to a mass audience, and publishers were, understandably, reluctant to engage with the subject. Consequently, without accessible guidance, the general public simply didn't "get" houseplants. Inevitably, this led to their diminished popularity, as people incorrectly viewed them as "difficult".
Hi, I'm Tom!
If you're like me and enjoy the challenge of growing houseplants and getting them to thrive, then Ourhouseplants can help. This website shares my knowledge and years of growing plants and provides (hopefully) helpful advice on properly caring for your indoor plant friends.
Whilst working for Pan Britannica, Dr Hessayon formulated his idea to solve this issue by producing a simple plant book which was exactly that. Simple. Every single element of his writing and illustrating style was straight forward and stripped down to the rawest form.
A small colection from the Expert Book series
While it's true this means some of the history of plants, or interesting facts were lost in the presentation, this style was what was needed. No bells or whistles, just the plants and how to keep them alive and thriving in our homes.
This formula was a rip roaring hit and the fact this man was still producing Expert books into his late 80's following the same format from over 50 years ago is testament to that. Collectively the series have sold well over 50 Million copies, became the best selling gardening books in history and today still take up proud residence in many a bookcase.
#ad
#ad
Pan Britannica were no doubt dubious of their fresh faced employee, Dr Hessayon, when in the late 1950's he pitched his idea for his first "book" (it was more of a booklet at only 16 pages!), but in the end it was probably one of the best decisions the company ever made.
The books not only generated substantial revenue but also profoundly boosted houseplant culture itself. Throughout the 1960s, '70s, '80s, and beyond, Dr. Hessayon demystified the often dark and mysterious world of plants, illuminating it for everyone. Suddenly, plants were easy, could consistently look beautiful, and were thus widely welcomed into homes.
With all this increasing interest in houseplants something else which contributed to Pan Britannica's success was their fertiliser, "Baby Bio", which became one of their most popular products, especially here in Britain.
The Baby Bio brand followed the Expert books with a colourful and striking appearance, coming in a container shaped like an old fashioned french perfume bottle with a red cap. Although the company itself was eventually sold, the Baby Bio range is still popular today and is sold by Bayer.
The Expert Books retain their relevance today. While some very current and modern plants are absent, they comprehensively cover all traditional plants and general horticultural know-how. They are certainly worth seeking out, and second-hand copies can often be found at an excellent price.
Can Dr. Hessayon be considered a hero? Perhaps. Especially to plants, his advice and guidance must have preserved countless plant lives over the decades. He is also partly responsible for this very website. Without his influence, we may not have become so thoroughly immersed in the exciting and sometimes mysterious world of growing plants. In any case, we'd simply like to say: Dr. Hessayon – Thank you!
Over the last 20 years, Tom has successfully owned hundreds of houseplants and is always happy to share knowledge and lend his horticulture skills to those in need. He is the leading content writer for the OurHouseplants Team.
