Warren Sheather, columnist with Armidale Extra, remembered

For about 30 years, Warren wrote columns - mostly on native plants - for the Armidale Extra, The Armidale Express and previously the New Englander magazine.

"I was approached by a journalist from The Armidale Express between 25 and 30 years ago (and asked) if I would be interested in writing articles on native plants in conjunction with various other people over the years who have written columns about exotics and that seems to work quite well," Warren recalled when interviewed in December 2017 about his column.

READ MORE: Warren Sheather shares his love of gardening

His knowledge and enthusiasm for native plants was something he shared with readers.

He would write about the environment in general but native plants in particular, their cultivation and descriptions of various species.

It was a topic he was passionate about, because he felt that while a lot of gardeners had a great deal of knowledge about exotic plants, there was large gaps in their knowledge of native plants.

Something Warren always tried to do in his writing was to enthuse people about growing some native plants.

Another emphasis he focused on was birds. In his own garden - which was all native plants - Warren discovered that bird numbers had increased, to the point where he had a bird list that had 90 different species on it.

"Not only is growing native plants horticulturally very interesting and very colourful, but also has a big influence on the birdlife in the local area," he said in the 2017 interview.

Warren often received feedback from gardeners and readers. He would get stopped in the street, where people had questions about the plants he had described.

Because of the column, people often stopped him when he and his wife Gail were in town and asked for advice about growing native plants. He was pleased that there was interest shown in native plants, thanks to the exposure that native plants had received in his columns.

Warren was a life member of the Australian Plants Society, and had worked as a professional officer in UNE's Department of Botany from 1978 to 1995.