I was less than enthusiastic when my wife suggested that we spend Sunday afternoon wandering around other people’s gardens. Sounded a bit like visiting a garden centre. It was part of the National Garden Scheme (NGS) where people open there gardens to the public, there is a small charge, in this case £5, but that does go to charity.
Starting off at Sefton Park Palm House, where there was plenty of entertainment, face painting was on offer if you had children with you. Flower faces and Butterflies were very popular. There was a Park Ranger promoting the free events and walks in the Parks, coming up this month are walks in Calderstones Park and Stanley Park. Of great benefit to keen gardeners next Saturday, 18th July, the Great Compost Giveaway at Croxteth Country Park. 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. bring your own bags and help yourself, it’s free. Then have a walk round the grounds. A full list of upcoming Park Ranger events is available in local libraries.
Having purchased our tickets, we set off to Sefton Park Allotments; a map is included with the ticket, so that you don’t go wandering into the wrong garden.
Gardeners are optimists, lets be honest you have to be, you put some seeds in the ground and then hope that something will appear in a couple of months. So much can go wrong, too much rain, too little rain, too hot, too cold. Then there are the plant eating pests, mice, pigeons, slugs and rabbits to name a few. It’s a wonder anything grows. But gardeners plant seeds in the hope that something grows. Total optimists.
The people working on the allotments were very friendly and willing to chat away with the hordes of visitors and it is so peaceful walking about the allotments. My wife sampled some honey and asked Rod the beekeeper about his bees, Rod has two hives on his Sefton Park alotment. He had made the hives from bits of scrap wood, it was a bit like The Borrowers. Rod introduced my wife to Shelia, who is the Queen Bee of Liverpool Beekeepers. Bees have had a bad couple of years, due to poor weather, but this year have started to recover, Shelia explained. If you have space and would like to introduce bees into your garden or allotment, Liverpool Bee Keepers will happily supply the Bees free of charge. www.greenhive.clara.net/ The benefit is that it is good for the garden and flowers need bees and you get honey for free, worth doing, have you seen the price of honey these days. Honey is the only food that does not go off.
After the allotments we set off to visit our first garden, Sefton Villa on Sefton Drive, the creation of the most engaging Pat Williams, a small, but peaceful garden the highlight being is the Zen area, this is a garden to enjoy the peace in. Pat opens her home to paying visitors who are seeking comfortable Bed & Breakfast www.seftonvilla.co.uk and you get the opportunity to spend time in the garden.
In complete contrast to Pats Zen garden is the Vice-Chancellor of The University of Liverpool’s much more formal garden, with large lawns and traditional borders, no tomatoes in the greenhouse, the VC is growing grapes, probably to produce wine for high table.
Next was Parkmount on Ullet Road, a large garden bordering Sefton Park, time is needed to explore this garden. What at first looks like a tradional garden turns out to be a bit of a maze, with hidden paths and surprises. It does take courage to plant trees and add flowerbeds in your lawn. Also on offer were refreshments, which is why we were glad that we had left Parkmount till last. Teas and coffees were available along with cupcakes, one cupcake with a lavender topping, and hot food. Most people seemed to be going for the large glasses of Pimms, the ideal summer drink in an English garden.
It was a very relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon and is very popular, next year it is hoped to add a couple more gardens and open in June, Pat Williams told me that the Roses look better then. All the gardens are within a short walk of each other, there is also plenty of parking close by and all the gardens are on the 60, 74 and 75 bus routes.
The National Garden Scheme www.ngs.org.uk operates throughout Britain and is well worth supporting, it appeals to that curiosity in all of us to see how other people live, but these are not the grand gardens of the aristocracy these are the blooming lovely gardens of extraordinary people.
The next time my wife suggests visiting gardens I will be quiet happy to join her. Gardening is growing on me.
"It's a Wonderful Life"
(Thu 02/12)
TURN IT DOWN.
(Thu 11/11)
Do we need another Beatles book.
(Mon 11/10)
President or Pope, who is most welcome?
(Mon 16/08)
