Tom is off to Ecuador on hunt for plants

Intrepid Plant Hunter and BBC2 gardener, Tom Hart Dyke, is off to South America once again, seven years to the month after he was released from a nine month kidnap ordeal at the hands of Columbian Guerrillas.

Tom is journeying to Ecuador to collect 'Puya's' - a beautiful relation of the pineapple. Tom aims to hold the UK's first National Collection of Puya's at The World Garden, Lullingstone.

Currently, no one holds a Puya National Collection outside of Ecuador. Tom says: "They're amazing plants - they have some vicious spines though - you can get a nasty spiking when you pull your hand away from one."

Plant hunting is certainly in Tom's genes. His two great-uncles - Boyd and Claude - were the first explorers to map the Nile region in Chad. Sadly, both lost their lives in search of adventure and are buried in Chad. As Tom says: "I was luckier than Uncle Boyd and Uncle Claude, I made it out of my ‘adventure’ in one piece."

Tom became a familiar sight on our TV screens during his struggles to create his World Garden at Lullingstone, a story which thrilled over two million viewers on BBC2 during 2006 and 2007.

So far the World Garden has attracted 20,000 visitors in 2007 which has helped in no small measure to secure the safety of his family home for another year. Tom says: "It's been an amazing year - we've had visitors from all over the UK, the south East and from the continent. People have come to see the diverse range of plants we have here at Lullingstone - we've got species that aren’t grown outside their natural environment. It’s a great lesson in conservation. Some of the Cacti we have growing in the Mexican border are actually extinct in their natural environment in Mexico!"

For his trip to Ecuador, Tom will be traversing difficult terrain, and searching for some un-named species. He will also be collecting seeds on behalf of the Dendrology Society. His trip will be filmed for BBC Video Nation.

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