Man defies ban in hunt for Morning Glory

Michael Hugh-Jones was banned from the garden two years ago after his anger over the treatment of the Ipomoea plant spiralled out of control, resulting in angry exchanges in front of visiting schoolchildren.

But Mr Hugh-Jones recently decided to go undercover to establish what had become of the plant that he landed himself in trouble trying to protect.

His secret visit, he says, confirmed his worst suspicions, with the Morning Glory nowhere to be seen.

Now he has renewed his public dispute with staff at the Botanic Garden, with the former planning officer accusing the Botanic Garden of disposing of one of its most impressive plants.

Mr Hugh-Jones had been a regular visitor to the Botanic Garden for 58 years. But staff said his accusations that the Heavenly Blue Ipomoea, a blue flowering creeping plant, was being neglected had become increasingly abusive.

The director of the garden, Timothy Walker, said the final straw came when Mr Hugh-Jones interrupted a talk being given to primary school pupils, with his shouting upsetting the youngsters.

Mr Hugh-Jones apologised for the incident and has stayed away from the Botanic Garden for more than a year. But he could not resist sneaking into the Botanic Garden after returning from a holiday in Spain, where he had gone to see Morning Glories in bloom.

Mr Hugh-Jones said: “When I got home I learned from The Oxford Times that the Lord Mayor’s picnic on May 25 would be in the Botanic Garden. It’s been some time since I was banned for life after I criticised the director’s mismanagement of the garden’s only Morning Glory. So a plan formed in my mind. I would sneak in in disguise as a picnicker and check on it. But I was too late.

“To my disgust, but not surprise, I found the Morning Glory had been abolished. It’s been replaced by a boring evergreen creeper, which is no doubt more prestigious academically. I dare say Mr Walker thought that having banished the Morning Glory’s one effective champion, his deed would go unnoticed by the public. Well the cover-up has failed, though he has deprived local residents of the pleasure of seeing a beautiful plant.”

The Botanic Garden director confirmed that the plant had gone.

Mr Walker said: “There are about 352,000 species of flowering plants in the world. We have room for about 5,000 in the garden.

“We have a collections policy and framework that enable us to decide what to grow. Research and teaching activities change, therefore the collection will change. We currently do not require a Morning Glory for any of our activities.

“If we wanted one we could acquire a Morning Glory very easily. They are not rare and available from most good garden centres.”

There are 500 species of Ipomoea, many known as Morning Glory. Most are twining, climbing plants, common in the tropics and subtropical region.

Mr Hugh-Jones had originally complained that the plant had been moved to a corner of the temperate house, with its blooms squashed against glass and its stems left untrimmed.