Ask daitheplant

1. How did you come to join Gardeners Corner?
2. Name the countries or counties you have lived in â?¦
3. Describe the type of work you do.
4. Describe how you first got into gardening â?¦
5. What would be your dream type of garden and do you think you will ever be able to achieve it?
6. Have you any particular favourites in celebrity gardeners, flowers, shrubs and/or vegetables?
7. Have you ever entered any of your plants into shows?
8. If you had a garden created in your memory, what plants do you think would most adequately sum up you and your life?

1. After 5 years it`s hard to remember, but I think I just Googled "gardening".
2.Biggest part of my life has been spent here in South East Wale. Did work in Denmark for a short time in the early seventies.
3.For the past 7 years I have been self employed as a maintenance gardener.
4. My gran originally got me into gardening by buying me some Montbretia ( now Crocosmia ) corms when I was about 5 years of age.
5.Would love to build a truly exotic garden, complete with Orchid house. Unless I win the lottery no chance.
6. Geoff Hamilton was such a working class gardener he has to be my favourite, Orchids are my favourite flowers and brassicas my favourite veg`.
7.When I had an allotment I used to enjoy showing veg in our local show.
8.Bindweed, because I`ve always been tenacious and a pain in the bum.

 

Hi Dai,

did you always work in gardening or did you have to 'make the break'....?

Emily

 

Emily, I`ve worked in many situations. 20 years ago I started work in a garden centre, ending up as the palnt area manager with total control over the department. Then, just over 7 years ago, the centre closed down and I was out of work. I had the chance to work in a GC in Cornwall, but an old lady I was working for had other ideas. She put the word around and I ended up doing my own thing. I have a good client list and am happy with what I do. But would love to be doing it on the South Coast.

 

How did you end up in Denmark?

 

Hiya Dai.

So, a person has just moved into their new home, and they have a jungle for a garden, weeds, brambles and stuff. What's the one piece of advice you would give? Nothing too specific, but in more general terms.

Cheers...Freddy.

 

My first marriage had just come to an end so I needed to make a new start. Jobs in a foundry in Denmark were advertised in the local paper so I went to the open interview, and came out lucky.

 

Cut all the rubbish back with a strimmer and see what plants you are left with, then build your garden around these existing shrubs. Tweak it and develope it to your owns tastes over the coming years and make the garden yours.

 

And you enjoyed it?

 

Loved it, should never have come back to the UK. Unfortunately, I was the team leader taking the group over there. When a couple of them wanted to come back they didn`t know how to go about it, so asked me to bring them home. My mistake was saying yes.:( I should say, I am half Finnish, so felt totally at home.

 

Should haves don't count, although I always say that I should have stayed in New Zealand instead of going on to Oz.

My only benchmark is a couple of Finnish grand prix drivers, but I love the dryness of the Finnish humour!

 

You are right, should haves don`t count, but when you have two or three people out of their depth in a foreign country. Who want to go back to what they are used to, what do you do? Tell them to eff off and fend for themselves? Sorry, but I`n not that sort of person.

 

Not the people you bought back, but the things that we should have/have not done.........

 

I agree, hindsight is a wonderful thing.:D:D

 

So, you have some un-Finnished business then Dai? :D

 

Un-Danished, surely.