Nicholas Harberd is one of the world's leading plant biologists.

He directs a research team at the John Innes Centre, Europe's foremost plant and microbial science research insititute) and is Honorary Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of East Anglia.

He is the author of numerous scientific papers, including papers for Nature and for Science.

His recently published book Seed to Seed is part field notebook, part sketchbook, part diary, a study of the natural world and an explanation of the secret life of plants. Using as his starting point a humble thale cress, found in a churchyard, he evokes the beauty of the natural world and inspires respect for the way it works.