Earliest gardening memory
Finding my mum’s long-lost wedding ring in the vegetable patch. She had lost it several years before I was born, but when my siblings and I were very small and were sent out to dig up some summer potatoes, a distinct ‘tink’ sound was heard as the fork plunged into the soil. The lost ring was retrieved and we all had buttery new potatoes to celebrate.
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How did you get into horticulture?
I was lucky enough to fall into horticulture by accident. I was working shifts at a local coffee shop and was offered some work by a regular who was a jobbing gardener. It quickly became clear that this was something I could be very interested in and so I did a one-year course in horticulture at Kingston Maurward College. One thing led to another, and here I am.
Horticultural heroes
I admire Dan Pearson for his naturalism, his ability to capture the spirit of a place and his intimate understanding of plants. I know it’s a bit clichéd but also my grandad. He kept a very neat and beautiful suburban garden in Surbiton, full of dahlias and roses.
Favourite landscape and garden that has influenced you
The Mt Cuba Center in Delaware, USA. It’s a garden that focuses on the native flora of the American northeast. Its woodland gardens and lake in early May are some of the most beautiful spaces I’ve ever seen, bursting with trilliums, podophyllums, tiarellas, phlox and dodecatheons. Closer to home I love Aberglasney in Carmarthenshire, and the hedgerows, woods and fields that surround us in Somerset.
Three worthwhile tips for every gardener
Bare soil is the enemy. Always try to cover the ground with planting, mulch or green manure, and leave the cutting back of borders as long as possible, until February ideally. While it’s always best to make informed decisions when choosing plants, it doesn’t hurt to experiment. And be as self-sufficient as possible: collect rainwater, make your own compost, grow your own staking materials and collect seed to sow next year.
Favourite planting style
I love the Arts and Crafts-inspired English country garden with its formal, aged structure and billowy, romantic borders; roses covering every vertical space and self-seeders filling every crack and crevice. But I also love a woodland garden. Nothing is more magical than walking through carpets of spring emergents and understated perennials sitting among stands of hazel and mature beech just coming into leaf.
Favourite ‘weed’ you’re happy to have in your garden
I have a soft spot for a healthy, strong patch of nettles. I love their form, their taste, and the ladybirds and butterflies they attract. They even make a wonderful home-brew fertiliser, and they’re ever so satisfying to pull up once they run too far.
What principles have guided your attitude to gardening?
It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Gardens, and gardeners, take time to mature, find their own unique qualities and reach their potential. It’s an evolving process that never really ends. And wherever possible make it seasonal, make it beautiful.
• Ed is heading up work on the Four Seasons Garden. You can get in touch with him at ed.edge4719@gmail.com.
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