Ken Thompson is a plant ecologist who spent most of his career at Sheffield University. He recently retired and moved to Devon.
He still writes and lectures extensively, including teaching on the Kew Horticulture Diploma, and has written several books on gardening and popular science. In 2014 he published Where do Camels Belong? The Story and Science of Invasive Species (Profile Books). The Sceptical Gardener, a collection of his gardening columns from the Daily Telegraph, was published by Icon Books in 2015, and a second collection was published in 2020. His book on Charles Darwin’s botany was published by Profile Books in 2018, and his latest book, on Britain's commonest plants, in 2023.
In 2016 he was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s Veitch Memorial Medal for his contribution to the advancement and improvement of the science and practice of horticulture.
In his spare time, he enjoys gardening, watching old films, walking, reading and supporting Plymouth Argyle football club.
