Mary Berry on her guilty gardening secret and biggest mistake

What is your new book about?

It’s about my gardening life, from when I was small. It’s about all the mistakes I’ve made, everything I’ve learned, and how the garden has become such an essential part of my life.

Whenever you visit a garden, there’s always a hint or idea you can pick up. Just recently, someone suggested lifting lily-of-the-valley when the tops are just appearing — dig out a chunk, put it in a pot, bring it indoors, and you’ll have a pot of wonderful scent.

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What advice would you like to share from the book? 

Whatever size your garden, enjoy it – and don’t rush. Do a little bit at a time. If you can only garden at weekends, spend the whole day and do it with a friend. I used to run an AGA school from home and in the evenings, I would go out into the garden with a girlfriend, Penny, who used to help me out. We each had a swoe [a type of hoe] and a gin and tonic, and we’d hoe and chat – it was really lovely after being cooped up all day.

What book is on your nightstand? 

Alan Titchmarsh’s The Gardener’s Almanac. I open it each month and it tells me everything I ought to have done. 

What first sparked your interest in gardening? 

When I was very young, it was wartime and there was no entertainment – we were at home and in the garden. In the back of my mind I can name every plant there, so I must have been slightly interested. My first garden with my husband was a very small yard in London, and we made a planting bed at the end. I was trying to grow the flowers I’d grown up with, but it was shady, and they weren’t successful at all. Felicity Bryan, my book agent, said, “Wait until you have to spend less time with the children – then I’m sure you’ll enjoy gardening.” And she was absolutely right.

By that time we had moved out of London, to Penn, and the garden was fairly empty. I started reading and visiting other people’s gardens, and the interest came.

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What’s your current garden like?

When we moved to our current home in Henley, Bunny Guinness helped with the design of the garden. She’s given it a lovely balance and structure. We put in a lot of yew hedging to screen the tennis court and it has grown rapidly (watered with a leaky hose).

We made six raised beds in brick, and their height means I can sit on the edge comfortably. We’ve just planted espalier pear trees – I love ‘Conference’ pears and wanted to grow them myself.

Can you share your biggest gardening mistake or failure?

Planting in the wrong place, not considering height and not improving the soil enough. When we planted roses here, we dug out the soil, replaced it and fed it, and they’ve been very successful. I also plant them a bit closer together for a better show. 

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Is there something about gardening that you wish you’d known earlier?

The importance of planting things in the right place. And when you’ve just planted something, it’s important to water it in well and not to forget to continue watering it for its first year. Even if it’s raining, you still have to continually water pots.

What’s your favourite garden to visit? RHS Garden Wisley. 

My treat is to go at different times of the year and to different parts of it. It’s spacious and you can investigate your problem of the moment. I have a peach tree, and at Wisley they cover their peach trees with glass structures. We had a similar one made in Perspex that we put over it so that it has protection in winter, rather than just fleece – so you can get all sorts of ideas there.

Do you have a guilty gardening secret? 

Every year I grow three amaryllis in a pot, put moss on top and support them with twigs. But when they’ve finished, I’ve had no success with them coming back. I vow that I’m going to read up on how to do it. 

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