The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Tulip talks all set to bed in
Recent gales and heavy rain have failed to dampen John Stoa’s enthusiasm for gardening – and he is hoping to share his fervour for the floral in the coming weeks.
The green-fingered Dundee artist tells Craigie: “As a trained gardener, I have always loved the impact of colour in spring with mass planting of tulips.
“Over the years I buy in loads of tulips every autumn, and leave them in the ground after flowering, but then add a few more the next autumn. People passing my garden just loved the impact, often taking photos and asking if they could wander around to see those tulips in other parts of the garden.
“So last year I joined the Scotland’s Gardens Scheme for charity, to open up my garden for visitors to see and enjoy my spring festival of tulips.
“I got a great response, so last autumn I purchased another thousand tulips to add to the display this spring. I have attached a few photos for this year’s display.
“However, my poor tulips have had to tolerate long spells of wet weather with cold gale-force winds, which does them no favours. Our spring weather is far from normal, but for some unknown reason, many tulips have started to flower earlier than normal – very weird!”
Original Art proprietor Mr Stoa, from Menzieshill Road, says he is looking forward to welcoming a few kindred spirits to his home this weekend to exchange a few gardening-related tips.
He continues: “There will still be plenty in flower for visitors to see when the garden opens this Saturday, April the 20th, then Sunday April the 21st.
“We are open again on 4th and 5th of May when my rhododendrons and azaleas come into flower, as well as a few late tulips. Visitors are also welcome to pop into my art studio to see my paintings as I will be showing about 70 on display.
“Then, to add to the entertainment, I will be offering free samples of my home-brew wines from my own fruit and grape crops. This year’s favourite is my pumpkin wine, though my pear and apple have also made fantastic white wines and my saskatoons are the best for a red wine.”
You can see how John’s garden looked last year by searching for 17a Menzieshill Road online at the scotlandsgardens.org page.
Meanwhile, a selection of his paintings are available to view on his website by looking up johnstoa.com/exhibitions