Roger Aylett 1934 - 2010
1 June 2010
Garden centre pioneer and international authority on dahlias Roger Aylett died peacefully on 18th May aged 76 years.
Roger started his own business at the age of 21 - Aylett Nurseries Ltd on 7 ½ acres of land just outside St Albans - and was still managing director at the time of his death.
Roger became an international authority on dahlias and contributed to several books including the RHS Encyclopedia of Gardening. Ayletts became well-known on the RHS show circuit, winning 36 consecutive Gold Medals and the Williams Memorial Medal twice, in 1977 and 1994.
From 1970 to 1999 Roger served on the Royal Horticultural Society Shows Committee, and was a member of the Dahlia Committee for 30 years. Between 1991 and 2003 he alternated annually between Chairman and Vice-chairman. He also regularly assessed the dahlia trials at Wisley, and the National Dahlia Society awarded him their Silver Medal in 1999.
In 1998 he received the RHS Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contributions to the science and practice of horticulture.
Besides his involvement with the society, Roger developed the family business - initially roadside selling from the nursery before establishing a highly successful fully-fledged independent garden centre on the North Orbital Road. In 2005, he published his autobiography 50 Golden Gardening Years, and in early 2010 Aylett Nurseries received the accolade of Gardening Which? Best Buy, rated the third best independent garden centre in the UK.
Within the local community he was an active member of the Rotary Club of St Albans Verulamium and was appointed a Paul Harris Fellow in 2005 for his many years of public service and charitable work.
He is survived by his wife Hazel, his two married daughters, Julie and Sally, and four grandchildren.