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Sheringham Horticultural SocietyNational Gardens SchemeThe latest of the programme of talks given to members of the Sheringham Horticultural Society was by Stuart Clarke who, with his wife Judith, had opened their garden, The Old Cottage Garden, Colby Corner to the general public under the National Gardens Scheme. Stuart explained the early history of garden visiting and the foundation of the National Garden Scheme in 1927, to raise money for the nurses of the Queen's Nursing Institute by opening gardens of quality and interest to the public. The simple but radical idea behind the NGS was to ask individuals to open their gardens to the public for 'a shilling a head'. In the first year 609 gardens opened and raised over £8000. By 1931 over 1,000 gardens were open and Country Life magazine produced a handbook, known as 'The Yellow Book' because of its bright cover. After the Second World War, the National Health Service took on the District Nursing Service, but the National Garden Scheme continued to raise money for nursing charities and is now a registered charity supporting causes such as MacMillan Cancer Relief, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Help the Hospices, the Gardens' Benevolent Society and the Royal Gardener' Orphan Fund. Stuart explained the development of their garden at Colby Corner, near Aylsham, from the overgrown site they bought in 1970 and the clearance and planting of the land which had the advantage of good loamy neutral soil and a south facing situation. Over time, as family and work commitments permitted, the garden had been extended and improved and they began to welcome visitors, becoming the second most visited NGS garden in Norfolk. It was clear that opening a private garden to the public was a brave decision involving complex arrangements including insurance, health and safety, teas, toilets and car parks but that this was outweighed by the fantastic buzz and pleasure from meeting other gardeners. As Stuart said 'Have you ever met anybody interested in gardening that you don't like?' Sadly, he now had to stop opening the garden following the sudden death of his wife earlier in the year. The family has estimated that throughout the year Judith spent some 50 to 60 hours per week in the garden and he had to simplify that garden so that he could cope with it on his own. This meant removing many of the labour intensive features such as the herbaceous border and tropical garden and their replacement with ground cover plants, shrubs, bulbs etc. It was clear however that Stuart would continue the vision he shared with Judith to plant and maintain an enchanting garden. The final talk in this year's programme will be on Thursday 20th November at 7.30pm
when Martin Davey, Head of Horticulture and Design at Easton College, will talk on
propagation. The talk at St. Joseph's Parish Centre is free to members and costs £1.50
for visitors. |
@ Sheringham Community Paper - Issue 94 - 21 November 2008
COOKS CORNER