Do you think a large proportion of gardeners come to it because of dads and grandads?
(No mums?)
My grandmother was an enthusiastic gardener, but I just fell in love with roses when I was 14, then started reading every book I could find about all aspects of gardening and joined the RHS.
Heroes: Christopher Lloyd, Joy Larkcom, Monty Don (because he isn't far away from us and therefore has exactly the same difficult soil conditions, which makes his advice particularly pertinent). Bob Flowerdew, as I love his organic tips. And if we get away from veg gardening for a moment, it HAS to be Graham Thomas, whom I can quote by the sentence-load, having read and re-read his books so many times.
Alison.