Within the CREW Schools team, we have a few wonderfully green-fingered gardeners, who have created beautiful outdoor spaces full of colour, scent and havens for wildlife to thrive in. However, I’m not one of them, and if, like me, you don’t know your Azalea from your Agapanthus, and you’re not sure where to even start in the garden, then read on!
Last week was National Gardening Week, and after 7 days of inspiration from planting seeds to creating wildlife friendly spaces, it took me back to a few years ago, when my family and I moved house to a Victorian cottage nestled in the Surrey Hills, and inherited with the property a big garden that looked like the last time it had been tended to, Queen Victoria was still reigning.
The thought of transforming our newly acquired and very unkempt and overgrown garden into an outdoor haven of beauty initially seemed like an exciting project, until the realization that I couldn’t identify a killer weed from a prize flower made the whole thing seem overwhelming.
Then I realized, that I needed to take a leaf out of my working day and put my CREW Schools head on…how to bring this subject to life and discover and remember the facts in a way that engaged me and left me wanting to learn more (and not less, because I was surrounded by lots of expert gardeners and was too intimidated to get started)
To start with, I stopped looking at the garden as an overwhelming beast’ to tackle and started to view it through the eyes of my young son and his approach to the outdoors. Plant a flower here, discover a weed there, leave food for the birds, climb the trees, make a camp, have a picnic. Then I started looking at some children’s books on gardening with my son (sometimes reading a children’s book on a subject can be a fantastic way for an adult to learn something new) and the more we did little uncomplicated things in the garden with no master plan, the more it turned the ‘overwhelming beast’ into a land of adventure and immense enjoyment that was taking its own shape.
For inspiration, we visited a home through the National Garden Scheme, who open private gardens for an entry fee and sell tea and (very yummy!) cake, to raise money for charity. In a bid to get some savvy tips on the garden, I asked the owner how she created such a beautiful space. Expecting to take notes of her in-depth plan, she informed me that there had been no particular vision with planting, other than to ‘…stick it in the ground and see what happens.’
I have no doubt that this lady’s skill and knowledge was key to her beautiful garden, and she was somewhat modest. However, it was her ‘give it a go’ approach that was most inspiring, as without that, the garden may never have existed. Before knowledge comes the desire to try new things.
It’s so easy as a grown up to be caught up in a big vision, or to become overwhelmed with a lack of knowledge in a subject that you have not yet mastered. Sometimes the fear of failing stops us from learning, and even simple things can become complicated.
Its worth remembering at any age…keep it simple…make it fun…learn though laughter and the rest will follow.
National Gardening Week may have come to an end for 2018, but there’s lots more outdoor discovery before the next one:
RHS Garden Wisley’s Family Gardening Festival on during the May half term.
RHS Hampton Court Flower Show Workshops lots to do at the show in July, including children’s sow n’ grow with ‘Skinny Jeans Gardener’
Lots to do and see at Kew Gardens
Check out Great British Gardens who have listed every type of garden and flower around the UK to explore.
Here’s the National Trust’s recommendation of their ‘top gardens for children’
Note: We would recommend plan ahead, check times, costs and FAQs on websites before leaving home to have the best day out.
Happy Gardening!
CREW Schools