Gardening – Broaden your Horizons
I’ve never forgotten the sage words that my infantry instructor used to bellow in my ear after leading my troops on a wildgoose chase for the umpteenth time: “Time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted, Mr Wild.” How right he was and, even though I try to remember this hard-learned lesson, I am still prone to reckless impulse purchases – hence the puppy that is currently sat on my lap! It was at the garden centre that I used to falter the most, though, spending shed loads of money on totally unsuitable plants which inevitably ended up on that great compost heap in the sky.
Nowadays, I’m more pragamatic (and poorer!) and make sure that I know exactly what I’m buying. One of the easiest ways of ensuring that you don’t end up making a rash decision at the garden centre is to have a look at what other gardeners are using successfully at the moment. A perfect example is the ground cover plant Waldesteinia – something I planted in my parents’ garden years ago. Since then I have used everything bar napalm to get rid of the damn thing! The label said something like “Makes a lovely patchwork of evergreen leaves with the bonus of bright yellow flowers”, but forgot to mention that it would do this over EVERYTHING, including paving, statues, water features, kid’s toys and even pets if they hang around long enough!
Thankfully, gardeners tend to be a warmhearted bunch who relish the opportunity to share their successes and failures with their fellow enthusiasts. This is reflected in the vast numbers (nearly 4,000) of gardens that are now open to the public through the National Gardens Scheme. This now means we can all have a good old nosey around other people’s borders and see what works and what doesn’t. Most importantly, it also gives you the opportunity for a candid discussion with the owners about their star performers and, hopefully, you can glean many more useful tips than you would find in the average gardening rag.
Garden visiting is most definitely not just for amateurs and dreamers – I will hold my hands up now and admit that some of my best ideas have been done before on lots of occasions; the originals are dotted around the country in gardens I shall not name for fear of being sued for breaching horticultural copyright! These gardens are not all grand in the accepted sense of the word and, in fact, some of the more modest gardens where the owner has done something a bit different with plants that are less common appeal to me the most. Equally important is the way that wildlife has been accommodated within the garden and the positive ways that owners have encouraged a perfect ecological and aesthetic balance of manicured plot versus nature reserve. You could go and splash your cash on a splendid hedgehog house made of the finest reclaimed teak from the shipwreck of a Spanish man o’ war, but unless you’ve done your homework and made the rest of your garden hedgehog friendly, you might as well invest in RBS shares.
Sergeant Jones would be proud that his lesson has finally sunk in – although the weapons of choice are now my trusty camera and note book – perfect for plagarising all the best garden ideas!
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