Off to the Malvern Hills....

Those of you who follow me on social media will have seen references to the RHS Malvern Spring Show, but now's the time to tell you some more about what's going on.

Back in January I was contacted by Hannah Genders, a garden designer and organiser of the new Grow Zone section of the Malvern Spring Show. The Grow Zone will be home to several groups all producing food in ways that are far from mainstream farming, but are still doing so, very successfully. It's an exciting departure for the RHS and one I'm extremely excited to be a part of both personally and with Incredible Edible. She was hoping that I would go along and make 2 very small, 1m by 2m raised bed gardens in the Grow Zone, one representing Incredible Edible Bristol and the other talking of British flowers, edible flowers and pollinator rich flowers.

Of course it's always safe to come and ask me to do things like this as I find it beyond impossible to say no, although to say this has been a challenge is a bit of an understatement. I'm no newbie to growing for the big RHS shows, particularly RHS Chelsea where our nurseries proximity to the M40 and good relations with a lot of the designers, meant we were in the thick of Chelsea prep for a lot of the year, but having four acres of nursery space makes it a whole lot easier than doing it from a suburban back garden in south Bristol! However, I can report the plants are doing well, except the camassias which were beheaded by the dreadful wind, and tomorrow we'll be crating them up ready for the off.

 

Mexican Tree Spinach ready to go....

But still it's nerve wracking. I'm a strong believer in facing your fears but having been unmercifully bullied in my last two nursery jobs I now realise those voices telling me I know nothing, I'm not interested in plants, I'm not interested in gardens etc etc haven't really gone away completely and this last week have been really loud. To say I'm facing my demons is a complete understatement. 

I am lucky. I have an incredible ( all puns intended) team around me, supporting and taking on all of the logistics so I could concentrate on growing and design. I know I've been hard work and for the last week or two the phrase "it'll have to be post Malvern" feels like the only thing I've said. In case any of them are reading this, thank you guys-you all brighten my day, every day.

 

Calendula! Ideal for health, for food and for bees. Plus those smiley faces always make me happy...

But the hardest thing? All I want to do is pick up the phone and call mum and say guess what?!? I know she would have been intensely proud but, with the 15th anniversary of her dying just round the corner, as in the week after the show, I feel utterly bereft that she'll never know.

However, onwards and upwards. The hours are ticking by, and soon we'll be off on our very exciting adventure. And if anyone wants me to do a bigger garden next year or in the future, I wholeheartedly say bring it on!!

Alliums-good for people, for bees and for beauty! 

It's National Gardening Week!

It's National Gardening Week, but what does that mean? To my mind it ought to be all about amplification of the things us gardeners, rich or poor, urban or rural, young or old, are doing across the UK in this week. The world of gardening is so rich and so diverse there is absolutely something in it for everyone and I would hope that this week gives us the opportunity to really get that out across the channels of social media through our blogs, our photos and by asking people to join in, to get involved and get excited about gardening. After all we are known as a nation of gardeners so let's make it clear that that is exactly what we are and that we are proud of that title.

So Sara, I hear folk ask, what are you doing this week to support National Gardening Week?

Well, aware as I am that I haven't blogged for a while firstly I am going to be a bit better at that. I often find I have so much to write about that I end up writing nothing so this week I am going to concentrate on catching up with all of that, so watch out for book reviews, some pieces about favourite plants and lots and lots of social media engagement around those blogs and more. I hope you don't all get bored with me...

But I am also going to be doing some gardening that I will take you all with me to do. Firstly I will be leading a session in the Incredible Edible Bristol Bearpit Garden with a group of volunteers from the horticulture team at Bristol University. We'll be planting climbers and hops and vines and a perennial meadow whilst having a great time and drinking a whole lot of tea. I am super excited to be linking with Bristol University as it's a direct link with Bristol Botanic Garden, which without doubt is one of my favourite places in the city as well as becoming a botanical masterpiece. If you haven't been then please try to get there-it's well worth a journey. I will be there on Friday with some students taking in not just the beauty of the garden, but also the extraordinary plant collection which I absolutely adore.

Then I will be leading 2 smaller sessions on Thursday where I will be supporting groups in their gardening journey. One of these groups is taking over a space from a volunteer who very sadly lot her fight with cancer just before Christmas. Jackie's Garden as we are now calling the space, will be a memorial to a lady who was passionate about Incredible Edible and about getting people outside and into the fresh air, talking about food and growing to anyone and everyone as she went about her days. I miss Jackie at every session;she was a fierce friend both personally and to Incredible Edible and I hope this group can make her vision reality.

For Jackie, for my own mum and for all the other people involved in our world who have lost their fight with or are fighting with cancer, I will be supporting the National Gardens Scheme this week in any way I can. I hope to find a garden or two to visit over the long weekend and I will be sharing their social media posts like a crazy woman. For those of you who don't know the NGS supports cancer charities and also Perennial, the gardeners benevolence charity amongst others. Last year they had their best year ever, supporting more and more people through those amazing people who both open and visit their gardens for them. Those who open their gardens do so completely voluntarily and the funds made go directly to these important causes. Why not get involved?

Then on Saturday I will be again in an Incredible Edible Bristol garden, this time in Redcliffe on the Urban Food Trail, gardening in a park that we are now looking after. There will be the inevitable weeding and clearing, along with some compost turning and lots more, as well as an Easter Egg Hunt and games for kids of all ages!

So a busy week ahead but also one that will be filled with love, laughter, tea and amazing people, all of whom will be gardening and at the same time working at creating social change by supporting a change in the way the public realm looks. The fact that all these folk come along, in all weathers and despite the issues in their own lives, never fails to humble me and make me realise that I am the luckiest gardener alive.

Knowledge sharing the Incredible way!!

I consider myself immensely lucky. Incredible Edible Bristol has given me so many opportunities and whilst it may not give me financial gain, it gives me so much more, including a real sense of both self worth and confidence in what I do. Now that I am also vice chair of Incredible Edible, the national movement, I occasionally get to visit other groups too witch is fab, as essentially I'm nosy and hate to miss anything!

 

Part of our Incredible Edible model is to share knowledge and today I went to sunny Wales to do just that. Earlier in the year I helped Incredible Edible Usk to choose some plants for their amazing garden and to plant those plants out in a design that put plants together well and ensured right plant, right place. Since then they have filled raised beds with veg, planted chillies, tomatoes, cucumbers and aubergines in their greenhouse and filled several areas with beautiful pollinator friendly seed mixes. The garden speaks of edibles for all, annoyingly including rabbits for a while which have now been shut out, and includes planting that increases biodiversity as much as edibles to share. It's an extraordinary space I feel honoured to have had a tiny hand in.

 

Today I popped back over the Severn Bridge to do some work with the group on pruning and maintaining the garden. It's amazing how far it's come in a few short months, the plants having really filled out, and how it was buzzing with life. We wandered around the beds, discussing when to prune certain grasses depending on when they flower, what seed heads are good to leave over winter in the border for insects to live in during the cold months, how to prune a run away rose and so much more. We wondered at the size of the once tiny Rodgersias, discussed ground cover for their permaculture garden, and discussed whether to leave the self seeded buddlieas in or remove and replace with cultivated varieties. For info we removed them!

We removed blight ridden tomatoes from the greenhouse and marvelled at the salad crops being grown in the raised bed section.

And at no point did I feel I was teaching. What we were doing was sharing knowledge, helping each other to succeed and strengthening Incredible Edible networks. We talked about bats, countryside management, food growing, Welsh apple varieties and invertebrates. We drank tea and nibbled biscuits. 

And when we finished the garden looked incredible, and the group are confident in the knowledge that they know what they're doing month by month to look after the plants.

That's a day worth far more than money could buy.