#mygardenrightnow

So as some of you will remember from my previous #mygardenrightnow post, my own garden causes me far more anguish than any of the 39 gardens I support with Incredible Edible Bristol. A mix of it being a rental, my want for it to be perfect and the expectation I feel people will have all conspires against me often, and almost stops progress. However, there has been progress in the last few weeks.

This corner borders the lower own which sounds very grand but I promise you isn't, and is made up of perennial fruit and veg, herbs and edible flowers. With a self sown foxglove that is just too beautiful to remove!

Until 3 weeks ago I was growing 2 small gardens in the garden for RHS Malvern, but now that plant material has gone, and I have had a little more time, the garden has been tidied, planting has taken place and I am feeling a bit more on top of things, so rather than waffling on, here are a few photos.......
It's occurred to me that I have managed not to get a photo of myself in any of these!! Never mind eh?!

Last year this was one foxglove and now it's turning into a nectar bank for bees. They were all over the alliums and have now moved next door to the foxgloves. Soon there will be lots of wild carrots, clary sage and dahlias too.

Funny how you turn i to your mother. I have spent years saying roses are too much work but when they flower they make me realise how important they are to me in the garden!

First tomato nearly there. I'm keeping tomatoes at home, literally just outside the back door to see how far they get before the dreaded blight appears.

No garden is complete without poppies for me and this one is brilliant-bought as a 9cm pot last year it has now been flowering non stop for 3 weeks and there are plenty more buds to come.

A Trip to Yeo Valley.

Yeo Valley Organic Garden is one of very few gardens with Soil Association organic certification, and is just down the road from us in Bristol so on a warm, sunny May Sunday when it was open for the National Gardens Scheme, we decided it was too good an opportunity to miss and off we went.
Now it has to be said I know this garden relatively well having visited on a few occasions and am always knocked sideways by how well it is kept considering it relies solely on people power. In fact I posted a photo on Instagram of the veg garden and one person almost refused to believe it could be so tidy in an organic system. It is, of course, down to a truly committed team of highly skilled, professional gardeners and their tireless work and it's also proof that you can garden completely organically and still have a stunning garden.
It was amazing to see the garden so busy, with car loads of folk arriving to see the garden, particularly as it was a day that was benefiting the National Gardens Scheme. The garden is also open throughout the season so it's worth looking at the Yeo Valley website and seeing when and popping along
So here is a walk through the visit with photos.

Those yellow signs never fail to make my heart sing!!

The stunning vegetable garden with views of the rolling Somerset hills.

The herbaceous borders that lead from the veg patch to the meadows. Alight with the freshness of lime green Euphorbia, tulips and fresh spring growth. The darkness of the Pittosporum Tom Thumb really makes these colours zing.

The meadow, full of stunning flowering Camassia. 

The Crab Apple walk which was alive with bees, who's hives are in the adjoining field, full of flower and the promise of the harvest to come. 

The main garden is full of colour, again all with a nod to pollination but also in a very designed, modern herbaceous border way, that really lends itself to the landscape behind it. The large pond, just out of shot, echoes Chew Valley Lake which is the other side if the wall.

Purples and pinks abound in Spring,making the freshness of the spring foliage particularly bright and zingy.

Wisteria features heavily in this part of the garden, covering walls, fences and pergolas and again supporting the bees that live so close.

I love a good piece of garden sculpture and this, I think, is lovely. It sits at the end of a new piece of garden where you can sit and look out at Chew Valley Lake.

Mint and other herbs sit on the patio outside the cafe, in containers of all types. As the Yeo Valley dairy is next door, there is an emphasis on using the recycled containers used in milk production.

The promise of the year ahead....

Tulips in pots adorn the outside area of the most spectacular greenhouse!

The greenhouse. Closed on really busy days but I have been allowed into these hallowed halls and what an amazing space, full of non hardy tropical type plants that come outside in the summer.

Inspiration From A Devon Hillside.

Last Sunday, during a lovely stay in Devon, I was asked to go and see a community garden and project and having asked a few questions, very quickly agreed with pleasure.
Now I have banged in and will continue to do so, about how vital gardens and gardening is for mental health. There are many who, from knowledge of the effect on their own mental health, will agree with that, and I am at the front of that group, constantly advocating for gardens and gardening to be socially prescribed or self prescribed. However, this garden supports people who not only are struggling with mental health but who are often socially isolated and struggling to make sense of a system alien to them. These people are the veterans of war, our ex military men and women.
Now I am a pacifist at heart and I had a conversation over the weekend with an ex-military person who said to me "I am a pacifist too-I joined the military to advocate for peace." There was a conversation I never thought I would have in a garden half way up a Devon hillside in the pouring rain, and one that has really got me thinking.
But back to the garden.

The garden is on an allotment plot in a tiny Devon village and is run by a group who have been working with this group for a good while but recently lost their permanent space and so decided to create one that was accessible to all. A space where people struggling with the situations they have found themselves in can come, sit, drink tea and eat biscuits, grow some food, put their hands in the soil and chat. And that is what is so vital and why gardening as a prescription is so great.
When you are gardening, your mind is focussed on a job that is often repetitive, making your brain concentrate on that repetition and making anything else secondary to that repetitive work. Whilst the brain has settled into the pattern of the work, what happens is conversations become subconscious, people relax and words flow. Conversations that would seem impossible in a room, with chairs and tables and walls, suddenly begin to happen. People in this situation are more perceptive and more understanding, allowing the conversation to go beyond comfort zones, discussing anything and everything from politics to mental health whilst in the background the repetitive work continues. These conversations can seem almost unworldly when you are in them. There is no anger, although often there is deep emotion. Tears can flow. Deep breaths are taken and silences appear although never the uncomfortable silence that happens in a room. Real listening and deep understanding take place. Worlds that otherwise might never meet join up and are often permanently knitted together. And all the while, the repetition of the physical activity keeps the space safe, comfortable and open.
For people struggling with their mental health, on whatever scale, this is a place where confidence grows through these conversations. The feeling of being listened to, of being heard and understood, fosters a feeling of relief and a belonging in the world. A feeling that whatever happens there is strength and a safe space with others to retreat to if needed. A feeling of belonging and making a difference. It is an extraordinary phenomenon and one that as a facilitator is humbling to say the least.
As someone who has benefitted from this type of horticultural therapy both as a participant, albeit unknowingly, and as a facilitator, that understanding of the difference it can make to a vulnerable person, is something I will fight for.

Somewhere to shelter from the rain, surrounded by a newly planted orchard , drink tea and feel safe is vital.

And so I found myself on a rainy Devon hillside, surrounded by allotments, drinking tea and asking myself why this isn't something available to all. For these ex military men, all struggling to come to terms with the horrors of war, disability, the benefits system and feelings of isolation, this garden is becoming a safe space. A space where they belong and are creating that supportive community that will continue to support them in the years to come. But don't we all need this?
I think so. But I also think we need to fight for this to be seen as part of mental health recovery. Surely all hospitals should have a garden where long term patients can come and gently potter whilst meeting other people in similar situations. And surely all doctors should be linked to a garden for social prescription. Wouldn't our villages, towns and cities benefit from those safe spaces of beauty, kindness and hope?
I left the garden with hope in my heart and joy in my steps. It might be a crazy world out there but finding these extraordinary people, making change in and for their own community made me realise just how lucky I am to be a part of a quiet revolution that is centred around kindness.

Apple blossom everywhere. Even on a rainy day the space is soothing.

The power of kindness.....or #gdnbloggers

Today I toodled into London to the Garden Press Event, a yearly event aimed at people who write about gardens. I had never been before but several people had said what a great event it was so I decided to go along.

And there were some fabulous exhibitors who were there to talk about their products and who were extremely generous with both their time and their gifts, and I'll be talking about those at a later date, but something else came to mind that needs expressing first.....

Now it's no secret that I am a big fan of social media. I've been tweeting, facebooking and Instagramming for years now and it's always been, for me, a positive thing that has truly enhanced my life and given me the confidence I have to do what I do. But today really brought that home, in quite a moving way. 

 Me and the lovely Charles who I first chatted with via Twitter, having a right old laugh!! Photo by the lovely Steph Hafferty who I also met on Twitter!!

Today a community came together. An extraordinary community of garden bloggers, all different but joined together by a love of gardens and growing. A community which is supportive, generous and kind. A community that usually chats on Facebook and Twitter but that today came together and made a statement. Not a spoken or written statement but a silent one that said we are a community that will support each other. A community that has, when needed, one voice, albeit made of multiple voices. 

 

These were such good fun and as you can see were shared as an Instagram story-a new and fun way to share your day!

And then I looked around and realised that it was more than that. There were people on stands, exhibitors and journalists who are all friends that have been made through the joys of social media. Through sharing posts, through sharing successes  and failures and through a combined love for what we all do, this community is growing, gaining traction and creating a slightly alternative voice within mainstream garden media.

Since the garden bloggers community became a more structured entity through organised Twitter chats and Facebook groups I think, probably unbeknowingly, a force has been unleashed. With more people using social media, exploring different platforms and enjoying conversations with each other and joining in with conversations, using hashtags and generally getting on no matter where in the world they physically are, it feels, to me at least, that there's somewhere to go for help, advice and most importantly for support.

And I think this can only become more exciting as we go forwards. For years many of us have said we'd like to see an alternative to the traditional garden press, and perhaps here it is, all around us without us actually realising!!

So if you want to join in then do!! You don't even need to be a blogger to join in the conversation really. Just get online and look out for posts with the tag #gdnbloggers and get involved!