Nicholas Warliker BA (Hons), MCIHort

Writer: local newspapers; sound broadcaster: local; lecturer. Show judge, qualified adult education tutor - RHS General course tutor with 20 years’ experience. Lifetime horticultural experience - formerly 25 years Head Gardener to HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. Plant Area Manager of Podington Garden Centre.

The ET's veteran gardening expert is now plant area manager at Podington Garden Centre, which he joined in 1995 after being made redundant as head gardener for the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester at Barnwell Manor.

During his 42 years there he worked closely with Princess Alice and even attended her 100th birthday party at Kensington Palace in 2001, where fellow guests included the Queen and Princess Margaret.

"The garden was Princess Alice's domain," he said. "She was a very hands-on person, who knew a lot about plants and knew exactly what she wanted. We spent many happy afternoons weeding together."

It was inevitable that this Buckinghamshire-born boy would grow up with green fingers. His great-aunt had a nursery near Reading and his father was a horticulture graduate who managed nurseries in England and Scotland.

Mr Warliker said: "In the Second World War I was at boarding school in Brighton but in the holidays I helped my grandfather in his allotment and learned a lot from him. On leaving school at 16, I worked for six months as a nursery boy at Romsey, biking nine miles there and back every day."

When his father moved to Lilford, near Oundle, in 1953 young Nicholas got a job as garden boy at the nearby Barnwell Estate. His first boss was the late Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and third son of George V, who was also colonel-in-chief of the Royal Army Service Corps when he did national service in Germany from 1954 to 1956.

He said: "I first worked in the vegetable garden, feeding a household of 20, and every week we sent vegetables down to the prince's official residence at St James' Palace, London, along with the logs and laundry. Both His Royal Highness and Princess Alice had their own Rolls-Royces at that time."

In 1968 Mr Warliker left to become head gardener at nearby Clopton Manor, before returning to Barnwell in the same position in 1972. He worked for Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, after he inherited the estate in 1974, and remained head gardener until the duke and duchess moved to Kensington Palace nine years ago.

He got on very well with Princess Alice, who took a personal interest in his family, and within hours of his first son Christopher's birth, she cradled him in her arms after arriving at his house on the estate with toys.

Mr Warliker loved every minute working on the 3,500-acre estate with its Victorian greenhouses, vineries and five acres of lawn.

He said: "There were always new plants coming in, many of them very rare. The first tree I planted in 1953 was a type of dawn redwood believed to be extinct for 120 million years."

For her 80th birthday villagers gave Princess Alice 18 different native trees and the King's Hussars presented her with a huge red chestnut with roots eight feet across. Mr Warliker planted one rare red rose at Barnwell Castle, which masons were rebuilding.

He said: "Imagine my horror when Princess Alice came out and said it was the only one of its kind in the world. In polite Anglo-Saxon I asked the men to stop work and we built a big cradle over it."

After decades of growing plants, Mr Warliker now sells them at Podington Garden Centre, a local family business employing 72 people. The surge of interest in gardening, partly fuelled by popular TV shows, means the centre is open seven days a week, selling everything from plants, seeds, tools and fish to furniture, hardware, clothes and books. It also sells 2,000 Christmas trees each year.

"Gardening is a big leisure industry now," he said. "For many people, the garden is seen as an outside room. Sunday is our busiest day, when whole families come along.

"TV has had an effect but sometimes it's blue murder when people want something recommended by Charlie Dimmock, which we may not have in stock. As I'm known from my media work, I'm often sought out for advice but I try to keep a low profile because it's very much a team effort here."

OUTSIDE the gardening world Mr Warliker is interested in history, art, music, literature and philosophy – all part of his studies for a degree in humanities.

It took ten years for the father-of-three to become an Open University graduate in 2001 and when he retires he hopes to add an MA to his BA in the same subject.

He said: "Gardening is my life's love but I thought doing this would make me a more interesting person.

I'm also a fully paid-up member of the Richard III Society – in my book, he's a good guy!"

Mr Warliker, 67, lives in Rock Road, Finedon, with partner Rosemary, who shares his passion for horticulture. At home he grows potatoes, runner beans, courgettes and lettuce in a garden which also boasts nice roses and garden ornaments ("But no garden gnomes," he says).

"I have 35 varieties of hostas, but I also love trees, especially the wellingtonia, known as the punch tree because its bark is so soft you can hit it with your fist."

NICHOLAS Warliker is much in demand as a flower show judge, horticultural teacher, guest speaker and media personality.

He became the ET's gardening correspondents almost 20 years ago.

He is also a founder member of BBC Radio Northampton's Gardeners' Question Time, appearing at many village hall roadshows, which have raised thousands of pounds for charities.

Through his work he has met many well-known gardening experts, from Peter Seabrook, Roy Lancaster and the late Geoff Hamilton to Roddy Llewellyn, Alan Titchmarsh and Charlie Dimmock.

He said: "I've met Alan Titchmarsh several times, the first when he opened a garden centre in Kettering, and I chatted to Charlie Dimmock at the Chelsea Flower Show.

"Both of them are very friendly and down-to-earth people. There is a great camaraderie among gardeners, whether TV celebrities or not."

Mr Warliker is well-known to another Titchmarsh, having judged the annual village garden show there for the past 26 years.

He has also judged 19 shows at Sandringham, a prestigious annual event attended by 14,000 people including royalty.

"As a senior judge, I was presented to the Queen Mother, who was very knowledgeable and always asked intelligent questions," he said. "One year she brought along her nephew, Prince Charles, who fell off his horse. I shook Her Majesty with one hand and Prince Charles with the other. I also met the late Princess of Wales twice and found her a lovely lady."

For 31 years Mr Warliker has attended the Chelsea Garden show, where he was once interviewed by the BBC's Ann Greig. He also had tea with John Major and his wife Norma at their Huntingdon home just after he was made prime minister in 1990.

He said: "Because of my experience at Barnwell, he hired me as a consultant to instruct his gardener about security measures."