James Veitch Jr.

After working with his father and grandfather at the Killerton estate, James junior was sent to London to train with nurserymen there for two years.

The family had by now moved into their specially-commissioned villa, Gras Lawn, close to the Mount Radford nursery.

The multi-stemmed Sequoiadendron which graced the front garden of the Veitch residence can still be seen today as it towers above a new development off Barrack Road, Exeter.

James junior was an industrious and astute businessman, a skilled horticulturist, and from 1856 to 1864, an active member of the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society.

Among other contributions, he instigated the formation of the RHS Fruit and Floral Committees; and the Veitch Memorial Medal was founded in his honour.