Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
BRITAIN’S GREENEST FINGERS
Meet the winners of this year’s National Garden Competition, who’ve spent 40 years creating this magical Italianate paradise in Nottingham
When he heard he had won the Daily Mail’s National Garden Competit ion, Michael Blood was so overcome with emotion that he couldn’t speak. ‘It’s not often that I’m literally speechless,’ he says, ‘but this was one of those occasions.’
Michael, 80, a retired dental ceramist and his partner Malcolm Bescoby, 72, a former council leisure officer, only entered their Nottingham garden at the last minute – so late in the day, in fact, that they had to post their entry form by special delivery to ensure it got there in time. ‘We hesitated, because there are so many amazing gardens up and down the country that we didn’t think ours would stand a chance,’ says Michael. ‘In the end we decided to go for it, which turned out to be a very good call!’
There were almost 1,000 entries to this year’s competition, and the standard was very high, but the judges were unanimous in awarding first prize to this Italian-style garden. Although it is a mere 20m x 9m (65ft x 30ft) it’s packed with immaculate planting and interesting features, and succeeds in creating a magical atmosphere. ‘It’s a little piece of Italy in Nottingham,’ says head judge Hamish Webb.
The result of almost 40 years of work, Malcom and Michael’s plot has kept improving and changing year after year. Michael talks of their years of gardening together as ‘a quest for perfection – we’re always trying to improve it, and this year we thought we had come close enough to put it up for scrutiny by the Mail’s judges. It was still a slightly nerve-racking experience, although very enjoyable.’
Back in 1978, when they first bought the Edwardian house in the Mapperley Park area of Nottingham, the garden had very little going for it. Apart from a castor oil plant there was nothing growing except for out-of-control grass, and the space was littered with concrete and breeze blocks. Malcolm and Michael, already keen gardeners, cleared the area and terraced the steep slope, creating two areas which they linked by using the same terracotta paving throughout. They put up walls of reclaimed brick, broken up by windows and niches, and planted climbers to soften the brickwork yet further.
The walls in the lower part of the garden were kept low so that Michael and Malcolm could enjoy the view of their neighbours’ trees and greenery. ‘ We have wonderful neighbours,’ Michael says. ‘A group of more than a dozen of us open our gardens for charity every other year, and this year we made £10,000 between us in four hours. There were things going on in all the gardens, from champagne and strawberries to music from a string quartet and a jazz band. Through the garden we’re able to raise money for Maggie’s Centres, which offer support for people affected by cancer.’
The garden is unashamedly theatri- cal, using statues, topiary and exuberant planting to reflect the couple’s love of formal Italian gardens. They recently planted 11 cypress trees, which add to the Mediterranean illusion. The terracotta pots, planted with box balls, continue the theme, and plants like bananas, tree ferns, white brugmansia (angel’s trumpet) and the catalpa (Indian bean tree), with its showy bellshaped white flowers, give an exotic feel. Many of the beds are planted with begonias, busy Lizzies and pelargoniums: as Michael points out, although bedding plants are out of fashion at the moment, they’re good value, disease-resistant and colourful.
The garden is used a great deal for entertaining. ‘We love having people over and enjoying it with them,’ Michael says. With space at a premium, they’ve made sure that all the features in the garden are memorable. Their magnificent tool shed looks like an expensive bespoke creation, but is actually an ordinary off-the peg wood- en shed, enhanced by the addition of wooden moulding which was designed by Michael. From spring until autumn most meals are eaten in the summerhouse, which was built using 18th-century reclaimed bricks and topped with a pediment from an old church.
They’re still pondering where to place their blue winner’s plaque. ‘We don’t want it somewhere too obvious – we’ll put it somewhere discreet so that people can spot it if they look hard enough, and then we can boast about it,’ Michael laughs. Most of the £2,000 winner’s cheque will be spent on a terracotta fountain, which will be installed next spring, though some of the money will go on plants as well, since they both love visiting nurseries.
Will there be more changes in the future? Malcolm, still hankering for more of that Italian feel, jokes that ‘the garden won’t be truly finished until we have our own vineyard,’ while Michael says, ‘We don’t have plans for any more major changes but of course we’ll continue trying to improve it. There are always things you can do better, and now that we’ve won, we really have something to live up to.’