GARDENS
SMALL & MIGHTY
Exploring Damson Farm, a Bath smallholding with big ideas Words by Nick Woodhouse Photos by Eve Nemeth
D
amson Farm nestles within the valley of St Catherine’s Brook, its path meandering resolutely towards Batheaston, where it finally unites with the mightier River Avon. Once home to orchards and market gardens, the deep-cut limestone valley is a fertile spot, host to a naturalised population of Dragon’s Teeth. With its rich topsoil sitting over clay, the ground is perfect for growing produce. Yet over time, we have perhaps lost those skills necessary to provide our own nourishment, to feed ourselves, to feed those around us. Skills that came so naturally to those that worked the land before us, skills borne from an intrinsic and deep connection with nature.
in the other. This was her place to breathe, to escape – one that prompted her to leave a successful career in London’s art world. Instead, Alison took on both an RHS certificate in horticulture and a diploma in Garden Design at Chelsea’s English Gardening School. From here, she launched her own design practice, specialising in richly layered planting schemes. Whilst her focus has more recently shifted towards edible gardens, this earlier discipline is undeniably evident throughout the gardens at Damson Farm, of which we were fortunate enough to have a tour one warm, Sunday afternoon in May. The edible garden is host to a wealth of plants that not only provide food for Alison’s family but also look beautiful too; self-seeded verbascum and forget-me-nots mixing with ease amongst marigolds, rocket and alpine strawberries. The neighbouring forest garden is just as diverse; Amelanchier rising above sorrel and lovage. Once uniformly clipped, the boundary hedges now take on a more natural, organic form too, blending seamlessly with the landscape beyond. The two-acre smallholding has been home to Alison and her family for some 13 years now. Alison’s search to understand how gardening should look in the face of a global climate emergency is one she shares with husband and sculptor Patrick Haines. Patrick’s artworks explore our relationship with the natural world; occasionally an unsettling and disturbing interpretation that mixes traditional materials with those found on his travels. For Alison, the grounds of Damson Farm offer an opportunity to greater understand how a garden can function both ecologically and aesthetically, providing produce for her family whilst living in balance with nature. When I ask her of the biggest challenge to date presented by the garden, her response is immediate – time, or more precisely, lack thereof. She has learnt to embrace this, to accept that a garden can’t always be what might be perceived as perfect. Produce need
“An introduction to the ancient skill of seed saving” It is this connection that Alison Jenkins, horticulturalist and owner of Damson Farm, is keen to rediscover. Having grown up in rural Shropshire, Alison remembers with fondness the natural, post-war appreciation held by her parents for preserving those vital resources around them. Windfall apples would be picked up, stewed and frozen, ready for the winter months when the garden was less fruitful. Compost scraps would be collected in a bowl, always ready by the sink, and destined to one day go back into the soil in a new form. It was sometime later in life, living in London, that Alison began to really appreciate just how crucial that resourcefulness was, how she longed again to be outside, to work on something more grounded, that bit more tangible, something that truly felt her own. And so she took on an allotment in Herne Hill, its elevated position offering views across to Greenwich in one direction, to Crystal Palace
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not always be grown in strict rows. Those plants that have self-seeded and taken root need not always be removed to satisfy our need for order and symmetry. For Alison, this discovery is an ongoing process, one of experimentation and one too that she is keen to share. The self-contained accommodation on the farm is often used to welcome volunteers from WWOOF, a global movement that aims to connect small scale, organic smallholdings such as Damson Farm with volunteers looking to reconnect with the land and exchange knowledge, values and ideas. This sharing of knowledge has most recently extended to a series of workshop hosted by Alison and guest speakers at the smallholding, each aimed at helping us engage with our outdoor spaces at a deeper level. The groups sizes are small, to ensure that everyone gets the opportunity to get fully immersed and have any questions answered. This year’s programme is an extensive one, with talks ranging from those offering an ecological approach to garden design, to an introduction to the ancient skill of seed saving and a study day on sustainable bulb planting. The smallholding’s top field is home to a ock of sheep, who have taken a liking to a small hut at its peak. Added by Alison in the early days of her transformation of the land from a sloping field to a biodiverse collection of spaces, the hut enjoys elevated views across an orchard, pond and meadows, and to the east, across the valley. Nourishment not only for the body, but also for the soul. Damson Farm, Northend, Bath BA1 8ES For more: www.alisonjenkins.co.uk
Nick Woodhouse is the co-director of interior and garden design company Woodhouse & Law at 4 George’s Place, Bathwick Hill, Bath; 01225 428072; www.woodhouseandlaw.co.uk