It was about this time last twelvemonth when our supporter Beth began twisting our arm to open up for the National Gardens Scheme . We accept the plunge , and in February found ourselves number 104 on the map of Kent in the famous Yellow Book . On the even of this weekend it still seemed unlikely to me that anyone would go out of their manner to call in a garden that value just 20x30 ft , but I was to be proved wrong . Over the two twenty-four hours we welcomed 220 charming visitors and 6 well behaved blackguard in a steady stream from midday to 4 pm . Everyone who came along was genial and appreciative . Some had travelled from as far away as Leicestershire ; many come from the four corners of Kent . It was a pleasure to stop , blab out and divvy up gardening tips with so many interesting sept . This alone made it all worth the effort .
The Gods were smiling on us in every manner , providing two days of almost unbroken sunshine , a cooling air and swooning , refreshing showers overnight . And we could not have wish for the garden to depend more fulsome ; the dahlia were in their prime and fragrant gingers soared skywards . Dahlia ‘ Amercian Dawn’was a bountiful front-runner with visitors , as wasHedychium densiflorum‘Stephen ’ , thekangaroo apple ( Solanum laciniatum ) , elephant ’s ears ( Colocasia esculenta‘Black Magic ’ ) and toweringEchium pininana .
I chat solidly for the whole eight hours we were open , thus was in my element . I answered multitudinous dubiousness about how to get agapanthus to bloom well , to which the answer was always “ grow them in a bright , well drain spot ; keep them tightly confined and provender with a high caustic potash fertiliser from April to September ” . Hopefully the agapanthus of Kent will flower bright and more liberal than ever next year . There was a lot of interest in how to naturalise dahlias in pots and how to reduce the amount of piddle needed to maintain containerize plants . I share my secret , which is to employ the bad pots uncommitted , use piss retentive John Innes No . 3 , multitude pots together tightly and mulch with aerofoil of the compost with horticultural grit . This way we only take to irrigate our pots twice a workweek , even in the hot conditions .
On both day there was a lovely standard pressure , with visitant slacken in the sunshine and accidentally bumping into friends and neighbours . What was so encouraging was that several people tell us that they had only come to see us because our garden was is so standardised in scale to their own . We were flattered that visitors told us how invigorate they were by what we ’d achieved in a small-scale space and how many plants we ’d packed in . The slating terrace was especially admire for its simplicity and fresh lines , whilst the outdoor kitchen yield a lot of questions about maintenance and how often we use it . luckily this summertime we have been able to cook in it almost every weekend , and in truth the kitchen involve very little routine caution .
My partner Alex ( aka Him Indoors ) slaved over a red-hot stove to create yummy orange and poppy cum loaf , lemon cupcakes , hot chocolate cookies , hot cake and yield cake . They drop dead down a treat with a cool down glass of Belvoir fruit amiable , with the elderflower show to be the favourite thirst quencher . apology to those who lack the pass of a tonic cuppa , hopefully we can tot this to the menu next time .
Special thanks go to the particular hoi polloi who made the open weekend potential , starting with the wonderful Vanessa , Irrigator General and PR Guru . Here she is with hubby Colin , who did our pen up in the church service magazine . Thanks to Vanessa , many citizenry get in with their NGS folder pre - circled with our garden ’s detail .
The garden was thronged with visitors on both days
Garden diarist Lesley Bellew gave usa glowing write - up in the Kentish Gazettewhich tempted a lot of visitor to make the pilgrimage to Broadstairs . NGS Assistant County Organiser , Caroline Loder - Symonds was wondrous supportive and supporting throughout , convincing us that our garden was suitable of panoptic attention . Having carry us into porta in the first place , it was only right that Beth should travel from deepest Cornwall to make certain we did things correctly . No isolated foliage , bare twig or fading bloom escaped her expert scrutiny and was dealt with consequently .
On the gate roll up incoming fees , and on occasion cope the crew , was Jack , Scarlett , James , Nigel and Simon . They did a improbable problem talk to visitors , dishing out booklets and providing directions . Scarlett , senior just 11 years , doubled as my talented young photographic learner and , I am sure you will gibe , require some crack guess for this post .
In the kitchen Rachel and Alex run a very tight ship , keep open me out of the style until the very end of the day on Sunday when I just had to help myself to cake .
Reaching for the stars, visitors were fascinated byEchium pininana,photographed by Scarlett Wardell
Share this with others:
Like this:
category : Bulbs , Container gardening , Flowers , Foliage , Our Coastal Garden , Plants , Small Gardens
post by The Frustrated Gardener
Dahlia‘Amercian Dawn’ photographed by Scarlett Wardell
Radiant, Lilium ‘Debby’, photographed beautifully by Scarlett Wardell
Our outdoor kitchen came into its own
Refreshing Belvoir cordials were kept on ice
Friends Nigel and James peruse the home-made cakes
Unsung heroes, Vanessa and Colin
Me and Beth, NGS pro and Artistic Director (shirt and blouse, models’ own)
The men with the money, Nigel, James and Simon man the front gate
My attempts to blend in with the flowers was futile. Captured expertly by Scarlett Wardell
Just desserts – a glass of chilled rosé and a cupcake to round off the day.
