On The Cover Make 2021 Your Best Garden Ever Back to basics
Journey J through this gardening year with the guidance of our expert, Susie
Welcome back to Susie’s Garden and the start of a new gardening year! It’s been a long winter and there have been many weeks when I couldn’t garden because of snow or saturated soil. But spring is stirring. There are crocuses blooming in my local park, hellebores and primroses in my woodland border and early bumblebees are on the wing.
In these turbulent and distressing times there is one constant that is helping many to cope – the natural world. Looking outwards, obser ving birds, plants or sky, going for a walk and gardening are all things that connect us to the seasons and natural rhythms.
Even with no outdoor space you can plant a window box, join a community garden or find a green place to look up at the trees. Many people are gardening for the first time. Others need a bit of a refresher course, so I thought I’d start my regular column by going back to basics.
I’ve gardened all my life and am very lucky to have been able to make it my career. For 23 years I ran a walled garden that was open to the public, its collection of herbs and flowers appearing many times on TV. Over the last ten years I’ve made a garden from scratch in the North Pennine home I share with my husband David. He grows the vegetables and I manage the flower garden – all without chemicals and in a way that nurtures wildlife. We have a mini meadow, terraces and a pond, cut flowers, compost heaps, lawn, and annuals in containers. I take all my own photographs so I can show you from my own experience how to get the most from your garden.