Royston Pike Lectures: Plant Hunter, and Gardener with Passion

Tom Hart Dyke and his travelling companion were kidnapped in March 2000 while trekking through ‘The Darien Gap’, a dangerous place between Colombia and Panama, abandoned by all to warring guerrilla factions. During his nine months in captivity, the British Embassy gave the boys up for dead, but Tom’s parents never gave up hope. 

To cope with the stress, Tom kept a diary and sketches for a ‘World Garden’, containing the plants he’d collected from across the globe, planted out in their respective countries of origin. Tom’s jungle antics – building gardens in the mountains, much to the annoyance of his captors - cemented his reputation as a ‘plant nut’. After his release and return home to his ancestral home of Lullingstone Castle, near Sevenoaks, in Kent, Tom and his travelling companion penned the best-selling book The Cloud Garden, detailing their experiences in the jungle.

In 2001, Tom travelled to Southeast Asia with KEO films to make A Dangerous Obsession – the story of Tom’s search for an orchid to name after his beloved gran, Mary Hart Dyke. Tom’s search for an unnamed species was fruitless but the subsequent programme brought him to the attention of many.

Tickets: £3 cash on the door (reserve your seat online)
Thursday 7 November 2024 - 7.30pm