Autumn 2023 Newsletter

Autumn 2023

NEW GARDENS

Welcome to the following new training gardens:

Findon Place, Holly Mount, Theobalds Farmhouse, Blunts Hall, Turn End, Shakespeare Centre, Horatio's GardenOswestry, Harewood House, The Murrel, 61 St Martin's, Beamond End, Glebe House, Cottesbrooke, Thenford House, The Engine House, Somerville College, Natural Surroundings, Mulgrave Castle, The Long House

News, workshops, plants

Dear Members,

An interesting summer to say the least, weather wise, so I’m hoping for an Indian summer. We need more time to enjoy all those late flowering seasonal plants and gardens. The Spring plant catalogues have arrived, but my order can wait just a bit longer.

In this edition we welcome a new regular columnist, Daniel Cartwright, Head Gardener at Winterbourne House & Gardens, Birmingham. A very experienced gardener and one of our new trustees, thank you Dan.

In terms of looking ahead. My time as Chair of the WFGA has come to an end and I am stepping down this autumn. I've tried to summarise my time in the role, so many highlights and challenges along the way.

A big thank you to everyone on our team of dedicated staff for their support, as well as our volunteer trustees, not forgetting you as members. You are all vital in keeping this Charity alive and well for the years ahead.

Best wishes and happy gardening

Vanessa Easlea, Chair

Vanessa Easlea, our outgoing WFGA Chair

From trainee to chair…

Vanessa Easlea, our longstanding chair and trustee, is stepping down this autumn and here she tells us about her time in the role and her passion for gardens

I was asked to write and summarise my past six years in the Chair’s post, and it is a tough ask! I would start by saying it has been a pleasure to work with the wonderful team we have, developing and ensuring the WFGA has a solid presence in the horticultural educational world well into the future. I am sad but at the same time delighted to leave the WFGA fit for the future, whatever challenges lay ahead. Looking back to when I took over the reins from Debbie Barber in 2017. I had been a trustee since 2013 and was invited to step up to being Chair. I was in the middle of my own placement WRAGS training at Chenies Manor having decided to take the plunge and change career. It was so enjoyable, and I was learning so much, that being Chair seemed the least I could do to help support the WFGA that had given me this life-changing opportunity.

and now hopefully those with horticultural interest and intention plus those within the sector, do know of us. Our profile has been raised across the board, from the hard work of our staff plus publicity, events, social media and messaging, as well as our work with leading bursary providers like the National Garden Scheme etc. We now have a solid social media following, a great website, as well as the newsletter and much more. More importantly, we have many testimonials and goodwill of those who have enjoyed being a part of our community.

There were so many things to consider back then, from updating our branding, expanding our subscribers, widening our offering to members, and ensuring our finance and governance were all in place.

It was an exciting time, and my brief was to widen the reach of the WFGA nationwide and to ensure the charity would be here for the long term. Back then few people had heard about us

At the same time, creating opportunities for everyone to learn and educate themselves at whatever level of gardening or ambitions they had. I am sure like me if you are a member,

Vanessa, hard at work on the borders at Chenies Manor where she did her WRAGS placement

Vanessa joined a members trip to Amsterdam

you have hopefully enjoyed joining the great workshops and skills days we offer. And if you have had the chance to become a WRAG trainee or are on the waiting list then rest assured, it will be well worth it. We have many previous graduates who have fond memories of working in fabulous gardens, and have gone on to great things within horticulture. These are the things that make a lasting legacy.

I am proud to have witnessed the growing success of our ‘jewel in the crown,’ the WRAG scheme. The depth of our coverage across the country has widened. We now have 17 Regional Managers on our team. Thanks to their in-depth knowledge and hard work, we have so many more garden owners who are willing to take on a paid part time trainee. Back in 2017, we had 89 graduates from the Scheme and so far in at end of 2022 we are running at approximately 145 a year. I enjoyed working and joining the great workshops and skills days often created by our RMs. I am sure these will go from strength to strength and with the support of garden owners who host, we are hugely grateful.

Change without too much upheaval is always hard. One challenge was to consider our name and who / what we represented. We debated long and hard at trustee level and included the membership. Eventually the change to Working for Gardeners Association was agreed, and I was pleased to steer and deliver this change to our Articles of Association (whilst still being known as ‘Women’s Farm & Garden Assoc’ at the Charity Commission for posterity). I hope you agree that being open to everyone now was an important milestone to achieve.

I cannot write this without mentioning the challenging years of the pandemic. It is hard to think back to such a difficult time for so many of us. My thanks go out to our trustees, staff, and members for their support in keeping the Charity on an even keel, dealing with all the difficult questions from members, trainees and garden owners. I am proud that we handled things as well as we could. We were creative with our ‘zoom’ workshops as well as our board meetings, aimed to support everyone in our universe to keep going and maintain levels of normality wherever possible. So much so that we came out the other side stronger than ever.

So, in summary, no-one is more proud than me, that the WFGA is a modern and thriving Charity and I hope that my work has made a difference to all our members and for the future gardeners in the UK.

How will I fill my time you ask! I hope to spend more time in my own garden, continue to dream of a garden in Provence and an allotment and of course, continue to support the WFGA with my passion and my membership. Hopefully, I will see you on a workshop soon.

Vanessa Easlea

Many members may remember in 2018, we celebrated the milestone of our 25th Anniversary of the Scheme at a very hot Waterperry Gardens. We were able to congratulate our 1000th trainee then. Now very proudly we are about to witness our 1553rd trainee graduating.

Vanessa tending to her own garden

The WFGA’s 1500th trainee

Luke Gibbs, our 1500th WRAGS graduate describes his training experience

Our editor chatted to our successful 1500th WRAGS trainee about his training experience and how his training honed his horticultural interests, and his plans for the future.

Where did you do your placement training?

I trained at Melplash Court which was spectacular in its layout. I really enjoyed working in the bog garden, situated alongside a stream under the shade of large trees. Its cool shade hosted an astonishing variety of bees and ferns. The bog garden was one component, alongside the main formal garden which was mostly lawn and contained two beds with hydrangeas and gladioli. There was also a series of ponds and a sub-tropical component as well. I enjoyed dividing and replanting the primula and pulmonaria. I hugely enjoyed contributing to the atmosphere of the forest understorey.

What did you enjoy most about your training?

Spending time talking with head gardener Ed Cross, who was very generous with his knowledge. Learning about the wildflower meadows and harvesting wildflower seed was fascinating. Activities often included explanatory talks to provide a larger picture overview, which was helpful, as I need to feel like I am working in line with a bigger picture. I also enjoyed taking notes and pictures on plant ID walks around the garden.

Where did your interest in horticulture stem from?

I have a background in a conservation and have always had an interest in plants and

conservation. More recently my interest has been in conservation planting or in other words, where the two intersect. Meadows, hedgerows, and forest trees are strong interests. Using gardening and planting to restore or rehabilitate wild habitats is an ongoing passion, and I am hoping to pursue this further.

What does gardening mean to you today?

I realise I might be repeating myself, but modifying gardening practices to become wildlife friendly is my primary interest. Given the loss of natural habitat in the UK, every bit helps. Allowing your garden to become more usable for wildlife is a passion of mine, and I am always keeping an eye out for smaller animals while working.

How important has the WRAGS scheme been to you?

I have undergone quite a journey since moving to the UK a few years ago. I made the decision to become a gardener and started doing some basic work and signed up to a gardening course as well as successfully achieving my placement as a WRAGS trainee, which was important to me as I place a premium on education and skills development. Since then, I have acquired a private customer base as a self-employed freelance gardener, which the WRAGS placement has played an invaluable part. I am most proud of how I have created a niche for myself and gone on to advance and my self-development.

How to design a beautiful border

Sarah Farr and Sussex trainees and members enjoy a masterclass in border design in the beautiful Hamsey House gardens

We have some wonderful gardens supporting WRAGS trainees in Sussex and I’m always happy when one of these kindly holds a workshop for us. It’s of great benefit to our members (and nonmembers too) who learn in a small group and get the chance to spend time in a special garden. Perhaps in a garden that doesn’t open to the public or at a time of year when the garden wouldn’t usually be available to see. They also get the chance to meet the people that look after the garden and, sometimes, the trainee too!

In early May we had a workshop on ‘How to design a beautiful border’ at Hamsey House near Lewes. The garden owner, Amy Bell, is a hands-on gardener and creator of the most beautiful and inspiring home and garden. Her Head Gardener, Laurie McMillan, has over 25 years of experience and has lectured at Plumpton College, delivering courses in both practical and theoretical horticulture. She has extensive knowledge of plants and the conditions in which they flourish.

Laurie wrote to me to tell me how the workshop went:

‘It is always a pleasure to teach in the beautiful surroundings of Hamsey House and on this occasion we had eight eager and delightful participants.

The course is designed to remove the mystery of designing with plants by firstly introducing the different qualities plants have and how to place them together to create contrast and interest. We then looked at pictures of various borders to give everyone an opportunity to evaluate these planting schemes to decide if it was ‘a good design or not’, based on the earlier tuition.

The group then embarked on a tour of the garden to see those principles in the garden at Hamsey. After a lovely tea and cake the group were given

materials to design a border in the colour scheme they wanted.

During the course there were a lot of interesting questions and discussions which everyone participated in. I believe that everyone was able to take something away with them that would help them be more confident when it comes to planting schemes, be it in their own garden or the garden of a client.’

Hamsey House’s beautiful borders

One of the attendees, Lynda Pickworth, told me that it was “a very inspiring course that has given me the confidence to have a re-think on how I design my garden borders.'

I hope the attendees all enjoyed the day and meeting trainee Sami Sweeten, who is having a fantastic time at Hamsey, learning from Laurie and working hard amongst the borders.

Sarah Farr, Regional Manager East & West Sussex

Photographs courtesy of Lynda Pickworth (WFGA member)

Digging with Dan

I recently read an article asking different gardeners what they wear when they’re gardening. Long descriptions followed of favourite pairs of wellies or jackets with a particularly useful number of pockets in them.

As a professional gardener I spend most of my gardening life in uniform. I must admit the statutory green jumper we’re often supplied with does sometimes feel like a second skin! Nevertheless, the article got me thinking. What are my ‘must-haves’ when stepping out into the garden?

Much to my colleague’s mirth I am very rarely seen in shorts – only the most vicious heatwave will get me to relent – I much prefer jeans instead. I’ve tried lighter weight options, but I spend so much time scrabbling around in borders on my knees that I’ve found only denim lasts me more than five minutes. Regardless, I always keep a cheap, spare pair of everything, in my locker in case I need a lastminute change of clothes. I have been known to walk into a pond (unknowingly) wearing a leaking pair of waders, in which case a dry pair of jeans to change into at the end of the day are very welcome!

Naturally, I generally wear steel-toe capped work boots, as is wise to do, but I have also recently started keeping a pair of steel-toe capped trainers handy for when I’m in the garden and want to stay safe but aren’t necessarily doing the heaviest of tasks. They are lightweight, not quite so burdensome to drag around the garden on tired feet at the end of the week, and easier to slip on and off when darting in and out of the office or house. All of your usual unform and PPE suppliers will stock them, but Shoe Zone on the High Street also often do really good, affordable versions, for as little of £25.

Firstly, I’m a terrible wimp, and feel the cold no matter what the season so I layer. In the summer I start off with a long-sleeved t-shirt, beneath a t-shirt and jumper, and just peel the layers off as I start working and get warmed up. In the winter I add a fleece, thermals and a woolly hat which has the added advantage of being a good place to tuck a pen (you’ve never got one when you need one!).

With secateurs I keep it simple (and boring I’m afraid!). I love my Felco’s. You use your secateurs dozens of times a day, every day, so why not invest in the best you can afford? I use model no.2, the general purpose secateur, carrying them in a holster on my belt with a general purpose Felco knife. The knife is essential to stop me doing something stupid with my secateurs – like splitting open a bag of horticultural grit – and blunting them unnecessarily.

Dan planting in his trusty denim jeans

In the first of a regular feature, Dan Cartwright, discusses a gardeners essential clothing kit

The one thing I would never be without, is my notebook. Good gardening is all about observation, and those observations are no good unless you can actually remember them! I use mine for everything, and often find the simple act of writing something down helps me to remember it, without having to constantly get my notebook back out to check.

WRAGS success

From ballet dancer to head gardener

Claire Tilling trained as a ballet dancer at Northern Ballet School in Manchester, something she had always wanted to do, and which resulted in a 20year career in the theatre. Her most recent role was in the Corps de Ballet of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ in London’s West End where she performed eight shows a week alongside being part of the creative team looking after the show as Dance Captain. This much-loved career ended abruptly with the onset of Covid when all theatres had to close.

I get through several in a year, jotting down reminders to diarise seasonal tasks, noting plants or planting combinations, and reminding myself to email somebody back when it occurs to me standing in the middle of a herbaceous border knee deep in weeds! I only have one criterion when re-stocking my collection. The notebook must fit neatly and snuggly in the back pocket of my jeans (I get most of mine from WH Smiths). That way it’s easy to carry and conveniently to hand. I even keep old copies and never throw them away when I’ve filled them up. If only I could decipher my own handwriting through the smudges of dirt, I’m sure there’d be a wealth of valuable information stored within those little books!

Dan Cartwright, WFGA Trustee

Claire turned 40 just before the pandemic and had been thinking about a career change for some time but had no idea what to do. She was certain however, that another creative career would suit her best. Although Claire had never gardened, (she had always lived in flats, and had the occasional pot plant) her thoughts turned to garden design and so she signed up for the KLC Garden Design Diploma as an online course.

Claire quickly established that she had no plant knowledge and would need this if she was ever to get into garden design. So, whilst still working in the evening at the theatre she volunteered in the

Dan modelling his trusty green gardening jumper, part of his uniform

Claire on stage

beautiful walled garden at Gosden House, Bramley for one morning a week and signed up for the RHS level 2 course at Merrist Wood. Around this time Claire also bought her house which finally gave her a garden of her own that needed development.

It was at this point that the pandemic hit the UK with all theatres closing and Claire was sadly released from her contract. However, with the RHS level 2 course beginning in person in the September of the same year, Claire had a focus and completed her theory syllabus and exams in one year, no mean feat, and by chance through an article from West Horsley Place, Surrey discovered about the WFGA and WRAGS.

Having signed up to the WRAGS scheme, Claire was quickly placed into a private garden in Surrey for two days a week and decided to also complete her RHS Level 2 practical at the same time. At the end of her placement, the garden owner offered Claire to continue working in the garden for two days a week, which showed how much her efforts were appreciated within the garden. With her full RHS L2 diploma completed, Claire needed to find more gardening work and so applied for a position at Loseley Park Estate in Surrey. Here she was taken on for two days a week and so she made the decision to also sign up for the RHS level 3 practical course to complete her full working week.

Upon completion of the RHS 3 course, the head gardener at Loseley offered Claire a full-time position, to which she has now taken and is responsible for the beautiful vegetable garden along with assisting with all other aspects within the walled garden.

Three years ago, Claire knew nothing about gardening and didn’t know what to do when a career change was forced upon her. Through hard work and determination her new career has now begun with this fantastic job at Loseley. WRAGS really can change people’s lives and with the help of garden owners and head gardeners it can enable career changers to move into horticulture.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LATEST WRAGS GRADUATES

Thomas Hatfield, Thomas Swarbrick, Richard Lewis, Marcelle MacKay, James Clark, Jennifer Cummins, Naomi Davies, Jacqui Fry, Emma Gentle, Katharine Hanss, Jennifer Hilton, Agnieszka Boltryk, Catherine Crooks, Alison Jackson, Emma Real-Davies, Reshma Shah, Julia Langsman, Kate Martin, Will Sargeant, Gregory Blackman, Lindsay LloydSmith, Kate Cook, Azalea Harley, Emily Jarrett, Liam McPherson, Tatsiana Ivonchyk, Louise Mills, Joanna Ellis, Amie WalkerShelton, Duncan Foster, Mari Hughes, Frances Cass, Lucy Chapman, Julie Clark, Emma Kershaw

Claire hard at it in the garden

Alison Hepworth, Regional Manager for Kent, Surrey and London

Botanical beauties

A tropical adventure with the assistance of the Christine Ladley Fund

With the assistance of the Christine Ladley Fund, I embarked on a tour of the botanic gardens of Southeast Asia; my first visit to Asia, travelling alone, so quite an adventure.

Phuket Botanical Garden in Southern Thailand was an extraordinary, eccentric gem, with a vast variety of plants. Of the twenty-plus areas, the amazing Palm Garden and Orchid section were most memorable.

Next was Rayong Botanic Gardens in Eastern Thailand. The best way to appreciate their wonderful waterlily collection is by canoe, and then it’s by bike round the ancient mangrove forest. A magical wilderness, lichens and mosses tumbling from twisted branches, it was so exciting to see wild Sarracenias and Nepenthes. Unlike the privately owned Phuket Gardens, Rayong is one of four Government Funded satellite gardens linked to the Queen Sirikit Botanic Gardens near Chiang Mai in the northern mountains. Each have specialisms which reflect their immediate environment; thus, Rayong’s water lilies and mangroves.

Queen Sirikit, meanwhile, is so enormous that a car, or an organised visit, is essential. The highlight for me was the skywalk; such a treat to view a tropical rainforest from above. Additionally, there is a fantastic range of glasshouses, including one devoted to Ethnobotany; a first for me.

Originally Laos Botanical Gardens near Luang Prabang was on my itinerary, but unfortunately it is closed until 2024 due to funding problems. So, from Laos I travelled to Angkor Botanical Garden near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Opened in May 2022, this may be the newest in the world. It had a unique

variety of Khmer plants, an interesting spice collection, wildlife forest and a beautiful flower meadow.

Laurel at the Angkor Forest & Wildlife Garden

After two months travelling, I got to the much older Ho Chi Minh City Botanical Gardens in Vietnam. What a relief the lush, tropical greenery was, after the sweltering, chaos of the city traffic.

I also visited forests, national parks and other smaller gardens during my travels; it felt very special to see beautiful plants including a variety of orchids and ferns, growing in the wild that I had only previously seen in glasshouses.

I feel very grateful and privileged for this funding from WFGA. I am writing a blog about my botanical travels, which will continue whilst I am on my 12 month sabbatical. Although for the next few months, I will not be in such exciting places as Southeast Asia. A huge thank you to the Christine Ladley Fund!

Laurel Goss https://laurelgossenroot.substack.com/,

Scone Palace Garden design competition

Chelsea Lowe – The Gloaming Garden Finalist at Scone Palace Garden Fair Design Competition

I am a WRAGS graduate and trained under the Head Gardener and Horticultural Therapist at Horatio's Garden Scotland. Since finishing WRAGS I have been a professional gardener and planting designer in Glasgow. I am passionate about plants, people, and sustainability. I was beyond excited when my garden design was chosen as one of the 10 finalists in the Scottish Garden Design Competition for the Scone Palace Garden Fair this year. I always say you can get a gardener to agree to any project in the driech days of January, and spending those rainy afternoons crafting my design for entry into the competition was a pleasure, but being chosen to turn the vision into reality for the fair was an exhilarating experience.

nurseries, Binny Plants and McLaren’s Nurseries, to choose plants was a delight.

My garden, The Gloaming Garden, was envisioned as a luminous twilight garden, a wild escape from the modern world. The feature plantings consisted of clear pale colours that hold and reflect the light at dawn and dusk - /the gloaming/. It included a hand carved, naturalistic birch tree stump bench, a river pebble path and solar powered water feature. I was keen to include native plants that had historic uses, and over 90% of my planting would have been used for medicine, food or craft by my Scottish ancestors.

The gardens were built at Scone Palace over two days at the end of May, and without a doubt the build days were my favourite part of the experience. The energy and enthusiasm of so many passionate and hard-working horticulturists, designers and artists, creators, students and craftspeople, was an amazing buzz! My build team included my talented husband Mike, insightful daughter Sadie and stalwart friend Alison.

Although I came away with no awards this time, I did come away with new friends, inspiring ideas, a few new plants, and the deep satisfaction of having met a new challenge. Even more rewarding, a short while after this I was appointed Head Gardener at Glasgow’s Horatio’s garden where I had started my journey.

Chelsea Lowe with her Gloaming Garden

The theatre and magic of show gardens needing to be vibrant over just a couple of days was a unique challenge, as was growing plants from seed with a specific flowering date in mind! Trying to bring plants on and hold others back proved to be quite the juggling act. Visiting my sponsor

Kate McClorey - A Sensory Courtyard Retreat for small shady urban spaces

Winner Scone Palace Garden Fair – Scottish Garden Designer 2023

I decided to follow my passion and take up horticulture as a full-time job and career in 2019. I studied with the RHS gaining my L2

Two of our Scotland based WRAGS graduates demonstrate their skills and talents with winning designs

qualifications and also the RBGE practical horticulture qualification, but I knew that I needed to gain real practical experience to turn the theory into practice. I discovered WRAGS and was lucky to have a great supporter in Caroline Straker who found me the perfect placement at Floors Castle in Kelso where I started as a trainee in December 2021. After six months on placement, I was offered a full-time position which I accepted with great joy! They have taught me so much and as part of the placement I was offered the chance to design and collaborate on new designs for the garden there.

who were the nursery who supported me), so I grew everything myself or dug up plants from my own and my friends and my mother’s gardens! I found slates for my raised beds in the Yard at work and bricks for the path were acquired when a toilet block was demolished! I used old crates and an old garden chair for my seating area and stuck a black plastic trug inside an old barrel to create a water feature with an old pump tap on top! In total the cost (including the £200) stayed under my own budget set at £600.

The next learning curve was actually turning a picture into reality – everyone else’s designs were truly beautiful – mine looked like a child’s drawing - but I could clearly see in my head how the garden was going to be. I built the raised beds after work and at weekends and I was shocked to discover that, like Masterchef, there was a timing element to the build, so had to work quickly to get everything built and planted up before the judging on Friday morning! That morning I got stuck in traffic and arrived at Scone literally one minute before the winner was announced – I could not believe it when I heard my name.

Kate’s Sensory Courtyard Retreat

This gave me the confidence to apply to the Scone Palace Garden Fair 2023. The brief was to design a garden within a 2.4m x 2.4 m space and I knew straight away that I wanted to create a garden for an urban environment that could demonstrate to people that they could have a space to enjoy even in a shady area, a garden that was a real haven for someone to come back to after work.

I didn’t expect to hear anything but was delighted to find out that I had been selected as one of ten finalists for the show! I had no sponsors, apart from £200 given to me by Scone Palace themselves to spend on plants (a huge thank you to MacPlants

To think that only four years ago I embarked on this journey to become a real gardener and creator of gardens – thanks to WFGA I have achieved the greatest accolade I could have wished for – the judges told me that they could tell my garden had been created by a real gardener and several visitors referred to me as a plantswoman that “knew her stuff” – I could not ask for more!

Trustee Search

The WFGA is looking for new Trustees to broaden the range of skills and experience on the board of trustees. We are looking for individuals with backgrounds in the Media, Marketing & Publicity Areas, but would also welcome those that have other specific skills. The charity is in a strong position and is looking to build upon our reputation and legacy

Role Description

The position is voluntary non-executive. Expenses may be claimed in line with our expenses policy

The board meets four to five times per year, online and face to face meetings. Trustees are expected prepare for meetings and to be available for consultation by the Chair outside of the cycle of meetings

If you would like to be considered, please send a CV with a covering letter outlining your interest in the position

Full details of the Trustee role and what is involved can be found on our website under ‘Working with the WFGA’

SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE

If you are ‘social-media friendly’, check out our pages and feeds, and spread the word by following or liking them. You’ll find us here: Facebook: facebook.com/wfga.org LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/women'sfarm-&-garden-association-the-/ Instagram: instagram.com/wfga_uk/ Twitter: twitter.com/WFGA_

RHS STUDENT MEMBERSHIP

All WRAGS trainees are entitled to Student Membership of the RHS. The details are contained in the WRAGS Trainee pack. Please use the information there to contact membership@rhs.org.uk

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