Hi all

Well what a year it has been so far especially for all the poor gardeners and horticulturalists out there!  I think we only had 2 completely dry days down here in South Devon since September last year until well in to Spring!! Apart from a brief respite over Christmas it was one hooligan storm after another. Now its dry this is where mulching your borders can pay dividends.

The main tasks in the Spring are pruning and mulching. I love mulching and encourage the team to be enthused about helping to spread tons of what I call ‘black gold’ over the recently cleared beds. I like a depth of at least 10cm and spread over any leaf debris is even better. The earth worms etc will work their magic and over time draw the organic matter down into the soil and feed the roots of the plants, create good bacteria and also aid drainage. If you mulch your beds regularly you will end up with wonderfully crumbly moist soil and will cut down massively on your watering during these drier months. Very important though to mulch over wet soil to lock in the moisture – which was not a problem this Spring!! Also mulch through November to late February depending whereabouts in the country you are before the new shoots appear. Your labours will be massively rewarded by lovely strong plants with good root structures and not a weed in sight!!

It is important to use weed free compost that has been heated to at least 80 degrees centigrade to kill off all the weed seeds otherwise you will just introduce weeds back into the soil which will compete for nutrients and water. Local councils usually make great mulch in this way by constantly turning massive windrows of the stuff but if you do  make your own (which is a great thing to do) even if you turn it it won’t build up enough heat to kill off the weed seeds but still great to spread around established and newly planted trees and hedges where it is easier to control the weeds.

Happy mulching

I’m Dr Mairi MacPherson, and I’m a mini-smallholder in the Scottish Highlands, about an hour north of Inverness. I consider myself disabled – I have MECFS and POTS, and their impact on me has been enormous. I’ve grown veg for several years but when my chronic illnesses forced me to give up my job as an academic gardening became one of the few things I was still able to do, despite spending most of my time in bed. Gradually over the past year or so I’ve been able to do a bit more – pootling around the garden, and even wielding a wheelbarrow on occasion – and I’ve been lucky to be able to spend as much time and energy as I can in the garden. We’ve got about 1/3 acre of space: a third of which is currently vegetables, and then there’s quite a few fruit trees and bushes. We have three small polytunnels, and also keep chickens and ducks that spend their days wandering around our garden.

Over the last year or so gardening has turned into my job: a Highland Seedlings I teach others how to grow their own, grow veg seedlings for sale, and host tourists and other visitors on smallholding and chicken tours. The chicken tours in particular are really popular – we spend an hour drinking tea, eating cake, and feeding and cuddling chickens! I’m also involved in a few community projects – we’re setting up a ‘free food garden’ in our village this year where we’ll be growing food for the local community, and I’m working with a couple of local schools and nurseries to help them get their kids (and parents!) growing their own food. We’ve also got a homeschool group that comes every other week and grows veg on their own bed in the garden.

For us, gardening has to fit into our lives – in particular into my energy levels. So everything we do is designed to be as low-impact as possible. We grow in long ‘no dig’ beds on what used to be unkempt lawn, built from cardboard and horse manure, and surrounded by wood chips. We did away with wooden sides because we found there were lots of slugs and snails living in them. Weeding these beds is really easy – as the weeds are mostly only in the top layer (with the cardboard acting as mulch), they pull out easily and, as long as you get them before they flower, they don’t tend to spread. I sit down to weed and plant, so our paths and beds are designed with that in mind, and the paths are wide enough for two people so that I can hold on to someone else when my balance is a bit off. I sow seeds at the kitchen table – we’ve got a plastic tablecloth stapled to the table so the soil is easy to wipe off. I start my seeds in large multi-cell trays as it’s a lot less effort to fill and carry one of those than individual pots. I’ve got a sowing schedule on a spreadsheet (which is also available free from www.highlandseedlings.com/resources) but as long as I sow sometime near the week noted on there it’s all good – I’ve given up on precision and neatness, and just go with the flow. Some weeks I’m too unwell to head out into the garden at all and that’s fine – the plants tend to do ok on their own.

I really enjoy being part of the veg growing / allotment community on Instagram. It’s friendly and folks are really helpful, and always up for celebrating those small and big successes. Your chillies germinated? Great! You grew a wonky carrot? Fabulous! It’s a genuine community, and it’s so interesting to see how other people grow their own. I’m @highlandseedlings there if anyone wants to say hello.

Up the Garden Bath is a new and exciting non-profit making social enterprise in Cambridgeshire. We take old unwanted bathtubs and upcycle them into ready made garden planters. Old bathtubs have been reused on allotments for years but our project entails building a raised wooden surround for the bathtub – transforming it into a raised & contained growing
space at a height that is easily accessible for children, the elderly or disabled.
I’m Dave Poulton, the founder of Up The Garden Bath, I came up with the idea to turn old bathtubs into mini-gardens whilst recovering from a neurological illness last year. It started out as a little DIY project in my own back garden and is now a thriving business bringing gardening
to local people, young and old. “Our planters offer an instant, ready made and contained solution to growing your own flowers, fruit, vegetables and herbs. We use 100% recycled, unwanted wood and paint to ensure a quality finish in a range of wood styles and colours. The soil we use to fill the planters also comes from a sustainable source – it is bi-product of the generation of electricity from food waste.”
“We have designed fun, interactive and educational workshops to teach children all about recycling, sustainability, growing and eating healthily. We feel it is imperative to teach future generations the importance of sustainability and recycling. Our planters provide a practical and
cost effective solution to growing programmes at a time when school budgets are being reduced. Our products are also very popular with SEN schools as they make gardening more accessible to those with disabilities. Not everyone is able to get down to ground level so we like to think we are doing our bit to promote inclusivity for everyone.”

“We have devised themed planters including ‘Mini Allotments’ and ‘Pollen Paradises’. These are extremely popular with nurseries and primary schools. In fact, we’ve just secured a partnershipwith the national charity ‘Buglife’ to promote our Pollen Paradise planters further afield. We’re also working with the Co-operative so watch this space! “We give opportunities to people who need a chance. Our products are manufactured by individuals who have found themselves unable to access mainstream employment for a variety
of reasons. We are currently researching new premises to expand our operation and plan to start a “mentoring” scheme that will pair skilled semi-retired people with teenagers who aren’t in education or employment. Our aim is to give the young people we work with an opportunity to learn new skills, including woodwork, to improve their self esteem and enhance their career options.”
“Our project is community driven with any profits, after the deduction of operating costs, donated to local gardening projects. We hope our project makes a difference by reducing landfill, educating and giving opportunities.”
“It sounds like a cliché but we have encountered children that didn’t know that apples grow on trees! Reconnecting children with nature is so important & making it accessible to everyone regardless of ability is our main goal” Our motto is ‘Together we can grow and learn’. I really believe that passing on this knowledge is one of the most important jobs anyone can do.” You can find out more by visiting our website http://www.upthegardenbath.co.uk/

Gardening can improve your Mental Health

The unseen disabilities can be ignored but throughout life we all can suffer regarding how strong we think we are….

The dark grey gloomy winter days can make us all feel low…. Spring seems so far away so how can we boost out mental health especially at this time of year but throughout the year?

I’ve been gardening all my life and now in my late 40’s it’s such a love and passion of mine I get impatient when the gales and driving rain stop me from pottering in my garden.

A friend told me how she feels ‘When I’m feeling low, getting outdoors into the fresh air and feeling the sun on my skin and the dirt on my hands I feel my troubles slip away. It gives me something positive to focus on and put my energy into and helps me get back to nature. Gardening makes you slow down and appreciate the beauty in things and the magic of nature’

So I’ve been sorting through seed packets, planning to visit NGS open gardens or plant fairs or redesigning a part of the garden this is the time of year for doing such things is the next best thing, but you are not alone. I’ve been keeping myself busy and over the last 18 months I was invited to write a bi-monthly gardening column in a local lifestyle magazine www.howdenshiremagazine.co.uk. It gives me the opportunity to share my gardening knowledge with others. Our meetings run throughout the year except for the summer so on a dark autumn and winter evening our visitors often say how much they look forward to getting out of the house and catching up with friends they only see once and month at our meetings.

I also keep St. Mary’s Church Hook Garden tidy weeding, planting and generally tidy throughout the year from its array of dancing daffodils to the lovely summer dahlias and lavender hedge as walk up the church path…

Every 2 years I open my garden www.rosemarycottagehook.co.uk for the National Garden Scheme – Yorkshire something else that I never though anyone would like to see my garden but they do and although it takes lot of planning it is another thoroughly enjoyable day with almost 300 visitors raising around £1500 for charities.

Have you though of joining a local gardening club? they aren’t as ‘old school’ as you may think and I Founded Hook Gardening Club in East Yorkshire. We are celebrating our 10^th Anniversary this year. I was approached from a villager who asked, ‘is there a local gardening club’?  So, I set about investigating what I needed to do to set one up and 10 years on we are ‘growing’ and visitors of all ages and gardening abilities come from a 20 mile radius to our meetings.  I could go on for ever but if you have chance have a look at our website www.hookgardening.club we are very active on social media as well.  I make seasonal homemade preserves from villagers’ surplus fruits and sell them fundraising for club funds….

Oh yes and I work full time too I’ve been a Professional Nanny for 30 years….

And finally…… Life’s always busy but sitting down sometimes and just listening to the birds whether I’m wrapped up in many layers or swinging on my garden hammock on a warm sunny afternoon…  watching a small heard of deer that wander through the field at the end of my garden….I just love where I live ……

Find me on Social media Facebook & Twitter @avidgardener72 – Justine Dixon and Instagram avidgardener163

Whole Small Guide on How to Grow Fig Trees

With origins in the Asia Minor, there is a good chance that the fig might just be the oldest cultivated fruit in the world. Evidence suggests that as at 10,000 years ago, cavemen already planted figs right outside their caves. 

Growing figs is perhaps one of the easiest gardening tasks to undertake particularly if you know exactly what you’re doing. They can be grown in the ground or in containers making it suitable to all gardeners depending on preference. 

If you are new to gardening, you would need some essential knowledge to help you succeed. Specifically, on your path to successfully planting your figs, there are a number of factors to consider as well as steps to take and we would be covering those bases in this article. 

Let’s dive right in.

Selecting a Fig Tree Cultivar 

Fig trees are known to thrive in areas that have long and hit summers (zone 8 and warmer). For them to be grown in colder zones, they would need to be grown in containers and properly insulated to prevent the effect of freezing temperatures. Another option would be to keep them indoors. 

The common fig tree (Ficus carica) is the most popular cultivar that gardeners subscribe to, and this is because of a singular reason – to yield figs, the flowers do not necessarily have to be pollinated. 

Also, there is a range of varieties of the common fig tree comprising certain cultivars that are hardy enough to be grown outdoors in cooler climates (Zones 6 and 7). 

This makes it very easy to work with. Other fig species either require specific requirements in order to be pollinated such as requiring a particular wasp to carry out the pollination or they simply do not produce edible fruit. This makes it quite a hassle to grow them. 

In North America alone, there are over 200 fig cultivars with varying shapes and colors. However, selecting the variety that is perfectly adapted to your climate is essential.

For instance, varieties like Chicago, Brown Turkey or Celeste are suitable for colder regions. Also, going for self-pollinating species is advised compared to those that demand a special requirement for pollination. 

Planting a Fig Tree

Planting a fig tree is not all that difficult. Basically, there are two options available for you. You could either plant directly or plant one that has been grown in a container.

The option to go with typically depends on the temperature conditions of your region. If you stay in a zone with very low temperatures, making use of a container initially is advised. 

Planting Directly 

When you want to plant directly in the soil, you should look for a location that has fertile and moist soil. This would help the fig tree grow faster and aid its eventual development into a spreading tree with a massive amount of leaves. 

If on the other hand, you want a tree that would produce more fruits and fewer leaves, you would need a “fig pit” to constrain the fig roots. A fig pit is simply a large pot that is buried and prevents fig roots from extensively spreading, thereby forcing it to channel its energy from producing foliage to making fruits. 

This process also helps to ensure a large fruit size and nice flavor. 

To get this done, you would need to dig a large hole and then line it with 24-inch paving slabs on all sides so that you end up with a sunken cube-shaped pot. 

Afterward, fill about 8 inches of the pit from the bottom with broken bricks or rubble in order to recreate its natural habitat of rocky subsoil. 

Next, the fig pit’s side slabs should extend to about 2cm above ground level. This would prevent the tree’s root from finding a way to extend and then spread outside of the pit. 

After doing this, fill the hole up with gravel and regular garden soil in the ratio 50:50. You can then go ahead to plant your fig plant. 

Planting from a Container 

To plant container-grown trees, the first step would be to take the plant out of the container and then get rid of any circling roots by placing the root ball firmly on its side and then cutting through the roots with shears. 

Afterward, dig a hole that would fit the plant while allowing for a gap of a few inches in both depth and width – this is to allow the roots to spread. Place the tree on a small soul mound in the middle of the hole while making sure that the roots are spread away from the trunk without excessive bending. 

For depth, ensure that it is planted at least  2 to 4 inches deeper than it was in the pot. To confirm this, a great way would be to check the color of the trunk and note the original soil line. 

Care of Fig Trees 

After planting comes caring for the tree if you want it to survive and thrive. Figs typically require a spot that is sunny and sheltered from winter winds. 

During the growing season, a good practice would be to mulch the trees with adequate compose and then apply foliar sprays of seaweed extract on a monthly basis. 

In the event of a drop in temperature up to 10 degrees or it gets a lot colder than usual in your area, you can protect your cold-hardy figs outdoors with straw placed in a cylindrical cage of hardware cloth. Plastic is discouraged as it can cause overheating. 

Apart from these, regular care such as ensuring that they have adequate nutrients is required for them to do great. 

To read other articles please visit http://gardenerspath.com

In 1989, at Yima Formation, Yima, Henan Province, China, a team of paleontologists led by Zhiyan Zhou and Bole Zhang unearthed ginkgo fossils that they later dated to 170 million years—the oldest ginkgo fossils found. Other fossil discoveries in Europe, South Africa, Australia, and North America reveal that ginkgos once flourished on our planet. 

Following the Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction 65 million years ago, the Quaternary brought periodic glaciation that swept across the planet, the last glaciation beginning some 2 million years ago. As a result, only a few plants, including one species of ginkgo trees, survived the catastrophes. These ginkgos found shelter in deep valleys of high mountain ranges in Central China.

Today, Ginkgo biloba trees represent the only genus of the family Ginkgoaceae of the order Ginkgoales of gymnosperms. 

The special smell of its ripe seeds attracts animals including the Masked Palm Civet Paguma larvata, which eat them and disperse the hard-shelled nuts within their droppings. As animal-dispersed seeds, ginkgos spread in the wild. Ancient Chinese found ginkgo nuts tasty and planted them nationwide. Sometimes ginkgo seedlings were included among dowries of brides. 

Because of their straight trunks and extraordinary shapes, ginkgos were often planted in front of temples, lending an atmosphere of awe and solemnity. Old Buddhist monks liked to use walking sticks made of ginkgo stems. When they traveled as missionaries, they stuck their sticks at temple courtyards and new trees grew. This practice spread ginkgos to the Korean peninsula and Japan in the fifth century. 

Engelbert Kaempfer, a German botanist and physician of the Dutch East India Company, discovered the ginkgo while stationed in Japan during the 1730s. He sent the seeds to Holland, and the first ginkgo tree in Europe grew at the Botanical Garden in Utrecht. In 2001, this oldest ginkgo tree in the West was 1.32 metres wide in diameter at breast height. From Holland, ginkgos were introduced to other European countries and to North America. In 1784, a ginkgo was planted in William Hamilton’s garden in Philadelphia, U.S.A.

Ginkgo is a dioecious plant. Males and females are separate trees. How to tell male from female?

In spring, male ginkgos tend to germinate earlier. They grow pollen. Their leaves are more divided, and in autumn they fall later. Meanwhile, female ginkgos tend to germinate later. They grow ovules. Their leaves have no split and fall earlier in autumn. 

Check the angle between trunk and branches: branches of males tend to be more erect, about 30 degrees between; those of females more horizontal, about 50 degrees between, for females to grow seeds and to get sufficient sunlight.

The ginkgo ebook is out. Learn a lot of stories by a native photographer stationed in the world only wild ginkgo forest in East China.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/wild-ginkgo-ebook-out-jimmy-shen/

A bit of Crambe in the garden…

Brandon George is a professional Horticulturist currently living in New England. He is a graduate of the Longwood Garden’s Professional Horticulture Program and has gone on to work and live in many places including London, England, U.K. and Jerusalem, Israel. Within the industry, his focus and strengths are in education and garden design. In additional to his interest in horticulture, he enjoys world travel and currently hosts Horticulture Rising, a horticulture-based podcast.

Sojurn: England: The birth of my career in Horticulture

Time is the concept always pulsing through the vein of horticulture, I can think of nothing that humbles me more. When I meet people in the horticulture industry, lighthearted conversations often begin with; how long until something will be in bloom, or when it’s best to experience a particular garden. When it comes to our careers in this industry, the time we invest is no exception. This year, it will be five years since I left the U.K. In that period of reflection, the thought that crosses my mind the most when I think of my time living there is quite simple, this is where my career in horticulture began.

In January 2013, I moved from Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. to the southwest of London to begin a new life with my partner. It was an exciting adventure for me, and one that changed my life forever. I was fortunate enough to find a job working in the plant area of my local Squire’s Garden Centre quite quickly. Over the next 3 years, I was given the opportunity to go on courses at RHS Wisley, and began studying the RHS Levels 2 & 3 in the Principles of Horticulture on my own. I even got to help with the building of our company’s display garden for three years at the Hampton Court Flower Show. Beyond that, I began to travel extensively to gardens in greater London and all over Europe.

While that is a brief summary of my time in London, I want to make something clear. Before I came to England, I didn’t know where my career was heading. I graduated with a degree in Finance in 2011, but lacking the drive to continue on this path, I was unsure of my aspirations. This country gave me the opportunity to redefine myself and explore my passion for plants to the greatest degree. Perhaps it was partially to do with being in the right place at the right time, London certainly is one of the epicenters of horticulture in the world.

But gardening permeates through this country like no other I have seen or have visited before. From the most humble of plots to the grandest estates, I fell in love with this nation’s love of plants. On my days off, I’d often stroll through Bushy Park and in winter would patiently walk the borders and grounds of the Hampton Court Palace searching for signs of the coming spring, looking for budding snowdrops and daffodils. I’d visit the artsy boat gardens of Regents Canal and discovered the most beautiful pergola covered in roses in Hampstead Heath in June. Even the weedy daisies thriving in the cracks of stone walls could create magic in the otherwise ordinary. Here, for the first time, I realized the potential for people to find healing from working with plants, in part to charities such as Thrive, in Battersea Park. This particular experience has even begun to shape my career goals in the coming year.

Allowing gardening an opportunity to change someone’s life in the U.K. is without a doubt, of the reasons why I love this country so much; it certainly has shaped and inspired mine. The friends I have made here are some of my greatest and have helped me find my place within the industry and continue to do so. As an American, I consider myself to be a self-professed ambassador to the U.K. Jokes aside, however, I am proud of having lived here and am grateful for the opportunity I was given to work alongside so many wonderful and inspiring people. Each time I return I am reminded that this is where it all began for me. With that thought, I hope to inspire others through my love of the U.K. to go and see their gardens, and expect to come back with a greater appreciation for this kingdom of gardeners.

A Garden Story

Recently, I interviewed for a head gardener position and the best question I was asked was if there was a favorite garden story I would like to share. That was not one of the many standard questions I had prepared for, so it caught me off guard, and impulsively I decided to tell them about my failure as a vegetable gardener last year. Odd choice of a story to tell in an interview for a horticulture position I really wanted, but I could not help myself. I like the story, so I went ahead with it.

I described how I had rearranged all my planting boxes to align with the path of the sun. How instead of winging it like I usually do, I made elaborate charts and graph paper diagrams. I chitted my organic potatoes. I cleared a space in our basement and started tomatoes and lettuces from seed  under grow-lights. I planned everything out so it would be my best vegetable garden ever. When spring came, I planted interesting beets and kale. And heirloom beans. I made my own clever bamboo trellises. It was all going so well. But something happened by late spring and overnight it seemed, my vegetable garden quietly went off the rails and chaos crept in.

“I don’t know what happened exactly,” I told them. “Let’s just blame it on the weather” one of my interviewers conspired helpfully. Truth be told, I had been working long hours and been distracted by other projects and the vegetable garden simply had gotten away from me. Much earlier than usual. The other truth is, it always gets away from me sooner or later. But I left that bit out.

I was reminded of my failure twice a day on my way to and from work, as the path to my vehicle goes past my vegetable garden. I was humiliated by the fact the lettuces I had grown indoors could not compare with the robust and colorful volunteers that had sprouted outdoors all on their own. The wild lettuces laughed at my grow-light seedlings who were struggling to catch up. Meantime, the cabbage worms were decimating my kale leaving behind pathetic green ribs. And it rained too much. And it was too cold. But, I had spread in a bed that had remained empty, a little paper bag full of milkweed seeds that I had collected the previous fall. Just to see what might happen.

Milkweed is the sole food a Monarch butterfly larva will eat. No milkweed- no Monarchs. It’s that simple.

In a matter of days a 1000 seeds or more sprouted and I now had this 4’ square bed of milkweed seedlings. A virtual Monarch Magnet I thought. Things were looking up! I stepped over my crowded and falling over worm-eaten crops daily to check for eggs or little caterpillars, but for weeks there was nothing. I contemplated cheating and importing a few from the local forest preserve. Would that be legal? Maybe not, so I dropped that angle. And then I went on vacation.

When I came back, I was delighted to find my milkweed patch had grown much taller and now hosted a dozen or more tiny Monarch larvae. What a thrill! I had always wished for Monarchs in my garden, and now I had some. I counted them daily but was frequently discouraged to find many missing in the morning… then, another batch would hatch to my relief.

One morning, I discovered a celadon green chrysalis hanging gracefully from a slender branch of dill from which a single drop of dew dangled in the sun. A natural mobile, I thought. It was SO perfectly perfect. I said to myself “I’m going to photograph this every single day until it becomes a butterfly and it’s going be just incredible!”  But, on about day seven, I awoke to find that a skunk or raccoon had had it for dinner. It was such a let down that I decided that the next time I found one- if I were to find one- I would intervene and rescue it.

A couple of days later, I did find one of my caterpillars far across the yard stiffly hanging upside down in the shape of a “J” patiently waiting to pupate- that’s when in two blinks of an eye it would wriggle off its yellow, black and white skin for the last time and reveal the chrysalis hidden underneath. It had chosen to do this right on the footpath of the neighborhood raccoon family. I knew it would not last one night in that spot, so I brought it indoors and carefully set it in a box. By the following morning it had transformed itself into a tiny green chrysalis and the two-week waiting period had begun.

Some days I would get worried because I would forget to check it before I went to work. I pictured the butterfly emerging in my absence only to have the cat get it. After all that. As it turned out though, I was home on the day that it was ready. I could see the black and orange of the wings clearly now, so I knew the time was getting close. I took the chrysalis and the scrap of leaf it was attached to back outdoors into the garden and gently attached it to a rusty rebar arch that was supposed to have been for beans. I then pulled up a garden chair to watch. When lunchtime came, I darted inside to make a quick sandwich. Alas! My timing was off and by the time I returned my butterfly had already hatched. I had missed the very moment- the big reveal- I had been waiting for.

The disappointment was momentary, however. ”Never mind,” I thought- and anyway, it was a girl! I am outnumbered by males in my family, so the appearance of a female- even a female butterfly- is exciting. (Female Monarch wings do not have scent glands so they are easily identified.)

Please click on the link below to see the video

https://youtu.be/6eYLeVMgWs4

For the remainder of the day I watched her unfurl her wings and pump them full of blood and then open and close them over and over and over as she prepared to fly… It was a process I had never before witnessed up close and it was mesmerizing. She- my Monarch- was absolutely the most exquisite butterfly I felt like I had ever seen. She was a Super Monarch- it being the end of the season- so she was extra large and extra beautiful. And strong enough, certainly, to make the 2000 mile journey to Mexico. I was sure if it.

As the day wore on, she was having trouble gripping the rebar I had put her on. It was too slippery. Once again, I intervened and I let her crawl up my sleeve instead. Slowly she scaled my arm flexing her wings more quickly as she went. Picking up speed she made her way up to my shoulder and over my ear touching my cheek with her wing. Then, into my hair to the top of my head where finally she launched herself into the air and fluttered across the yard to my birch tree- right above where she had made herself into a little “J” just two weeks prior. There she promptly folded up her wings for a good night’s rest. She had earned it.

She was still there in the morning, unharmed, but when I got home from work that evening she was gone and I was happy. I like to picture her hibernating on an Oyamel fir tree high in the mountains of central Mexico waiting for the moment in a month or two when she will wake up and  flutter north again in a cloud of other Monarchs to begin the cycle anew.

My little female Monarch was a lovely reminder that sometimes what we plant in our gardens is not what comes up, and sometimes what comes up is better that what we planned. I’ll be back to winging it again this year in my veggie garden, except for one thing: I will definitely be planting more milkweed. I can hardly wait to see what grows!

I did end up getting the job.

© Charlotte Blome 1/20/2020

Silent Space

 A not for profit project creating opportunities to be silent in some of our favourite green places

Do you enjoy being silent in your garden?  What about when you are visiting other gardens?  Many of us find it restful to stop for a minute and to enjoy the sounds of nature in silence. But in a world where non-stop communication is the norm, how easy is it to find five minutes when we won’t be disturbed, particularly if we live in an urban area?

The idea for Silent Space surfaced years ago through my work as a garden writer. I often spent time alone, in very beautiful gardens early in the morning. The peace I experienced would stay with me for the rest of my busy day.

What a joy and a privilege it was to be still and silent in gardens where I wasn’t responsible for anything.  Realising that it was something many people never experience, I wondered how the opportunity could be shared more widely.

Over the years, I developed a simple format that would make silent visiting possible, but without creating extra maintenance or expense for busy garden teams. Like many good ideas, it stayed in my head. It wasn’t until five years ago that those idle thoughts turned to action.

In 2015, I took a break from writing to help care for my mother after a dementia diagnosis.  Temporarily freed from deadlines, I followed the advice of Incredible Edible: ‘Don’t wait for permission or funding – just do something today, however small and the result will grow’.  With my mother for company, I started to look for suitable gardens.

By the summer of 2016, I was ready to pilot a not for profit project called Silent Space.  A handful of gardens open to the public reserved an area where people could be silent, rather like the Quiet Carriage on a train.  For a couple of hours each week, visitors to the quiet areas were invited to switch off their phones and to stop talking.

There were no other rules.  Visitors could spend as little or as much time in the space as they wanted.  They also had the option to avoid it all together. But the majority didn’t. We left notebooks on benches to collect feedback.  The most common response was gratitude.

The gardens and I planned to run the pilot for a month but the feedback was so positive and the project so easy to run that most of them extended to the end of the summer.  They are still part of the project today.

There are now over 40 gardens running a Silent Space around the UK – from Scotland to Cornwall.  In December 2019, Dunedin Botanic Garden in New Zealand joined the project, the first Silent Space in the Southern Hemisphere.

Silent Space is still run voluntarily and relies on the good will of all the beautiful gardens that take part. This year it will become a small charity. Thank you, Incredible Edible for your sage advice.  Silent Space continues to grow.

https://silentspace.org.uk/

photographs copyright Liz Ware

One day from being a very busy and active person I woke up and I new something was wrong. I was diagnosed within an a few months with an incurable cancer. Yippee! Working at Canterbury Cathedral and the King’s School I was very active and then for a year ended up in a wheelchair having had a stem cell transplant and now registered disabled.

Since being ill my healing garden has been my saviour in many ways and my fields where I created an acre for wild flowers. I remember reading that  ‘The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.’

Being in hospital for months and having very strong chemotherapy I started to plan my ‘Quiet Healing Pond Garden’ I am not in a wheelchair right now but I am in pain most of the day and can’t walk far and do much but with help I give orders and my wife and friends love me! I hope the do?

When diagnosed with cancer, your priorities in life have to change. It isn’t about work, money or how many branded goods you can buy any more.

It’s the simple things in life that can make you happy, like spending time in the garden, visiting NGS , enjoying delicious food that you grow from your vegetable patch and then sharing it with family and friends. I still have friends!

I am learning to accept my condition and move forward what ever time I have left be it a week or 10 years. Once you’ve changed your perspective, the hunger for fame or fortune diminishes or even disappears, and you realise you can be happy with much less.

It seems to me that cancer patients who live the longest have learnt how to be content. They have few wants and needs. They lead simple lives, they garden, eat simply and have zero stress.

I now don’t think of cancer as a death sentence. It’s not the end. There are many treatment options available today. Rather, treat it like a chronic illness. If you suffer a relapse, trust your doctor to keep it under control through surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

As as a priest my first priority is to be prescribe a proven medical treatment based on evidence. It’s only after I have received evidence-based help that I will try alternative treatments. The garden is now part of my healing treatment and a bit of Forrest Therapy. Nature never lets you down!

Of course, the process isn’t easy. It takes time to accept a cancer diagnosis, usually about six months after treatment. In the meantime, patients should not put things off. They should should get out in the garden or nature, live fulfilling lives, so that when the time comes – whether it is today, tomorrow, five or 10 years from now – they will pass on from this existence with no regrets. Get out in the Garden!

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