Ask Fidgetsmum

1. How did you come to join Gardeners Corner?

I'd been looking at other gardening forums but I got the impression they were all very learned people who, like 'the books', always knew what to do - then I 'Googled', GC popped up, I had a sneaky preview and saw people raising the same queries as I had, saw how friendly and helpful the replies were and joined immediately.

2. Name the countries or counties you have lived in â?¦

Kent! Various locations within the county, but Kentish born and bred. Not sure sure about the 'fair maid' bit though.

3. Describe the type of work you do.

I'm a Civil Servant (at this point most people's eyes glaze over!). Basically, I head up a team of people who liaise with foreign embassies in this country and then pass on questions or comments to our embassy in their country and vice versa â?? a sort of professional 'go between'!

4. Describe how you first got into gardening â?¦

I don't really remember not being interested, although I've come to realise that being interested and being good at it are worlds apart. When I was young my Dad had an allotment and although I wasn't really allowed to do anything (except weed - which is pretty boring for a child), I was happy enough to eat the produce. I recall school friends coming to our house and saying we ate 'funny things', which I later realised meant my Dad was growing things that weren't readily seen in the shops. I remember being particularly proud of the fact he grew asparagus since no-one else seemed to know what they were! One of my other hobbies is genealogy â?? almost to a man (and woman) all my ancestors were 'Ag. Labs.,' I'd like to think it's 'in the genes' but I can only hope that were better at it than I.

5. What would be your dream type of garden and do you think you will ever be able to achieve it?

As a child I lived next door to an elderly couple and the husband had been a professional gardener all his life. Whereas our garden was just grass with occasionally, a few nasturtiums, theirs was a 'proper' cottage garden, no grass just a lush, unruly, higgledy-piggledy jumble of plants and colour, curving brick paths and a great array of unusual containers. That's been my dream garden ever since. Will I achieve it? Doubtful. I realise now its not just a matter of jamming everything in, that it takes skill to put the right plants in just the right place and in that I've still a great deal to learn. Finding some of the older varieties of plant can also be a problem.

6. Have you any particular favourites in celebrity gardeners, flowers, shrubs and/or vegetables?

Celebrities: My favourite is Christine Walkden mainly because of her enthusiasm and although she's extremely knowledgeable she never seems to take herself too seriously. The late Geoff Hamilton was great for telling you how it should be done but set a standard I could never hope to achieve. My least favourite Diarmuid Gavinâ?? rusty ironwork 'n all and Alys Fowler.

Flowers: Lupins and roses. My granddad had a 20 x 8 foot border of lupins (he never seemed to have a problem with slugs, although knowing him I'm guessing he just asked them if they'd mind going elsewhere and they said 'OK'!

7. Have you ever entered any of your plants into shows?

No! I've looked at my veggies and thought 'Mmmm, that's pretty good', then I've been to shows and seen the real thing! I guess this doesn't count, but I did once win 50p., at school for my moss garden. Everyone else used a seed tray and had 'paths', bits of mirror for ponds etc. I clearly missed the point and just collected as many different types of moss as I could find, jammed them onto a saucer and won first prize because of my 'originality' â?? it made me very unpopular with the seed tray brigade!

8. If you had a garden created in your memory, what plants do you think would most adequately sum up you and your life?

Anything really as long as the colours were bright enough to dazzle and sufficiently scented to make your head spin.

 

In Q5 you seem to indicate that you know what you want to achieve, but don't yet know how to achieve it. What would you say is more important, the end result being exactly as you want it, or the journey to achieving it?

 

Good question, clueless!

I was watching "Homes under the hammer" yesterday and a couple had converted the house beautifully but rendered the sizeable back garden into one vast expanse of lawn! Made my back ache just to look at it.

So my question is: how do you feel about lawns- love them or are they a pain to care for? Or somewhere in between?