By Victoria Plum
Perhaps you were in Cromer last week (in the community centre in Garden Street!) last week when Richard Mabey discussed his book, The Accidental Garden?
He is allowing his garden to grow and mature in its own way, without the obsessive tidiness which we all (although not I) crave. He is studying the way nature, flora and fauna willingly colonise any space where it can flourish.
I am fascinated to see what flourishes in my garden when I don’t interfere. Caper spurge, hollyhocks and agapanthus self-sow all over the place with no effort from me whatsoever. If they are too many, I just pull them out – so much easier than trying to get fancy things established when conditions are just not right for them.
Above: Rare wild flowers in my garden. Below: Hemerocallis: daylilies for dinner! Photos: Tina Sutton
Perhaps you enjoyed the Reepham & District Gardening Club talk this month, as I did, from Joe Carey on the story of designing and putting together a garden for Chelsea, for which he and his wife won a gold medal in 2023. (The first time you win one it comes free, but any successive wins mean you have to pay £200 for the medal!)
In association with Talitha Arts, a charity to help people who have suffered trauma of varied sorts, Joe and Laura Carey amplified the concept of change, showing a beautiful sculpture of a chrysalis in conjunction with a mass of marvellous porcelain butterflies and a gorgeous flower planting too.
It costs £70,000 to bring a garden to Chelsea, and another £10,000 to move it and re-establish it in its final site. Joe and Laura would not consider creating a garden unless it could be moved on to a permanent position. Just imagine having to destroy and “skip” all the plants you have fostered and cherished, it would break your heart.
Twenty five plants to the square metre are necessary for ground coverage and on planting day each plant is removed from its pot, more soil put in the pot and then the plant returned so that it sits proud of the pot. Judges don’t want to see pot rims!
These concepts present an interesting juxtaposition with next month’s gardening club talk, when you will hear Sally Bates on Humphry Repton’s work in Norfolk and the work of the Norfolk Gardens Trust, at Reepham Town Hall, Church Street, Reepham, at 7.30 pm on Tuesday 16 July.
Just think about the idea of letting your garden be a wild space and contrast that with the exacting design and execution of a garden for Chelsea, and then consider Repton’s work to manipulate and “improve” on nature on a huge scale.
Perhaps you have seen the amazing show of oxeye daisies surrounding the A1270, (NDR)? What a show!
And perhaps you have already booked this year’s gardening club day trip to Easton Walled Gardens, Grantham, Lincolnshire. I have and am very much looking forward to the event on Thursday 11 July.
And don’t forget that you can serve your beautiful daylily flowers (not a true lily) with a salad as they are edible – and very tasty.