Full Name James Wong | Name James Wong | |
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Born 26 May 1981 (age 42) ( 1981-05-26 ) Occupation Ethnobotanist, television presenter, garden designer | ||
Celebrity botanist james wong on the sofa
James Wong (born 26 May 1981) is an ethnobotanist, television presenter and garden designer in the United Kingdom, best known for presenting the award-winning television series Grow Your Own Drugs, being a panellist on the long-running Radio 4 series Gardeners' Question Time and reporting on the popular BBC rural affairs series Countryfile.
Contents
- Celebrity botanist james wong on the sofa
- Discover more about borage with james wong
- Early life
- Career
- Personal life
- References
Discover more about borage with james wong
Early life
Born in London to a Malaysian Chinese father and a British mother, Wong was brought up in Singapore and Malaysia. Upon being awarded an academic scholarship, he returned to the UK in 1999 to study at the University of Bath. He then trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the University of Kent, gaining a Master of Science degree in Ethnobotany, graduating with distinction.
Career
At the age of 27, Wong became the presenter of his own television series Grow Your Own Drugs. The award-winning BBC Two series demonstrates a number of natural remedies sourced from plants, and soon became the highest-rated gardening series on UK television. The show ran for two series, as well as a one-off Christmas special, Grow Your Own Christmas. Wong's first two books that tied-in with each series of the television show became international best-sellers, with his third title Homegrown Revolution becoming the fastest selling gardening book in UK history.
Wong is also a regular reporter on the hit BBC One rural affairs series Countryfile since its reformatting in April 2009, as well as being a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time and presenter of the Channel NewsAsia series Expensive Eats.
In his capacity as a garden designer, he has become a four-time Royal Horticultural Society RHS medal winner for gardens he co-designed through the design studio he co-founded, Amphibian Designs, at the Chelsea Flower Show and the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. In his first garden at the 2004 Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, he became the youngest-ever medal-winning designer at the event, and is currently the youngest five-time RHS medal winner.
Wong has designed an Ethnobotanical Garden for the University of Kent, where he is a guest lecturer.
His research has taken him to highland Ecuador, as well as to China and Java.
In 2013 and 2014 he presented several episodes of Great British Garden Revival, winning 'Best Television Programme of the Year' at the 2014 Garden Media Awards.
Personal life
Wong lives in Twickenham, southwest London. He speaks fluent Spanish, English and Mandarin Chinese.
His mother is from Newport, Wales and Wong retains a slight South Welsh accent.