The gardeners are ready to show off their work
By entering her garden into The
Chronicle Garden Competition for the first time this year, Caitlyn Mason flies the flag of the future, leading the way for a new generation of gardeners to join this age–old passion.
Being in her 20s, she is one of the youngest gardeners to have entered this year, with a total of 122 gardeners throwing their hats in the ring.
Caitlyn’s garden is reminiscent of the gardens of old; a pastel canvas she lovingly created and developed since buying her home three years ago.
“The property hadn’t been lived in for more than five years and both the house and garden needed a lot of work,” Caitlyn said.
“At first, I created the garden to beautify the home, but then the gardening just took over,” she added.
Coming from a long line of gardeners (with grand parents who are particularly passionate about gardening) and being inspired by the Chelsea Garden
Show and the entrants’ backstories, Caitlyn decided to create a ‘picking garden’.
By just walking through the florals she has planted, she can make her own gorgeous bouquets to share with friends and family.
After all her hard work, her garden was finally ready to be entered into the competition this year, but it remains an ongoing project for her.
“It’s never really finished; my garden is a continuous labour of love,” she said.
Inspired by Gertrude Jekyll’s ideology — that there shouldn’t be a harsh separation between the house and the garden, but that they should flow into each other — Cailtlyn has planted a whopping 500 tulips, 43 roses and more than 200 dahlias in her cottage–style garden, connected to the house by glorious foxgloves, delphiniums, a raised sitting area and a brick path.
She hopes to inspire others to take up gardening, to enter the competition and to connect with the community.