Huntsmen with green fingers

The dash, glamour and haroosh of the chase don’t appear to have much in common with the more sedate activity of gardening, but to reflect on the two vocations is to unearth many subtle similarities. The cycles of hunting and gardening are inexorably bound to the seasons and weather, both involve long hours in the open at one with nature and both are rewarded by foresight, attention to detail and planning for the longer term. There is something else shared by hunting and gardening: the elusive quality – a mixture of tradition, high standards and the pursuit of excellence – accurately defined by that much misappropriated epitaph ‘quintessentially English’.

Few have combined so great a passion for both disciplines than the late Charles Parker, a legendary terrierman, otter hunter and stag harbourer, who turned his back on a privileged upbringing (Eton, Gordonstoun and Cambridge) to devote his life to the chase on two feet. A large part of it was spent living in a caravan as Captain Ronnie Wallace’s terrierman during