Swane was one of five children born in Sydney, to Phyllis Gwendoline (née Rayner) and Edgar Norman Swane. Gewn and Ted as the Swanes were known had five children. The eldest was Valerie Swane OBE,[3] followed by Ben, Josie, Elwyn[4] and Geoffrey.[5] Their English-born grandfather Edgar Swane (1850–1927) had settled at Ermington. A pillar of the Presbyterian Church he became mayor and then town clerk of that suburban municipality. His sons Ted and Harold established Swane Bros Enterprise Nursery in Ermington in 1919 after active service in World War One.[6] Initially, the nursery sold citrus but would later become renowned for growing roses. Ted became its sole owner in 1926. His son Ben found a passion for plants during his high school years at Newington College in the 1940s where he rowed and sang in the choir.[7] He later studied at Sydney Technical College and received his horticulture certificate in 1947. In 1958 Swane and his siblings became shareholders of Swane Bros. Pty Ltd with their father continuing to manage the business for some time.[8] The nursery remained in Ermington until the mid-1960s, when land was purchased at nearby Dural. The Swane family remained proprietors of Swane's Nurseries in Dural until 2000.[9] Swane was for thirty years a gardening presenter on 702 ABC Sydney.[10]