Growing glories of gardeners’ world
Celebration of a cultivated pursuit as special week marks the joys of sowing seeds and nurturing plants
AS A boy Phil Gomersall would relish the crunch of the season’s first homegrown wonky carrot, plucked from the soil in his father’s garden as he ‘helped’ with the harvest.
There’s nothing more satisfying, he says now from his own plot in a village in Leeds, championing the wonders of garden growing as president of the National Allotment Society (NAS).
This week marks National Gardening Week, as the RHS celebrates the joys that can be found in the grounds of nature, from sowing seeds to nurturing houseplants and savouring green spaces.
To grandfather Mr Gomersall, 77, it’s quite simply “the best thing since sliced bread”.
When asked what makes gardening special, he said thoughtfully: “It’s the fresh air, the exercise.
“Especially allotment gardening to grow your own fresh food. And you know how it’s been grown, with no chemicals.
“It’s very environmentally sound, if you like. Then you’ve got the cameraderie, social aspects and the therapeutic aspects,” he continued.
“The cost of living is going up, people are thinking well, they might grow their own.”
Mr Gomersall, despite that first taste in his father’s garden, was to go on to have a varied career, from driving tractors to working as a groundsman, plumber, and teacher.
As a parish councillor helping to set up Rawdon in Bloom some years ago, he started to come back to it.
First it was with the village’s Victory Allotment Gardens, where he is still secretary, then to the Leeds Allotment
Federation (LAF) and eventually Yorkshire.
Now, as national president, he represents England abroad, or at events like today’s RHS Malvern Show. Nationwide, all through this week, the RHS is celebrating gardening.
Back in Rawdon, Mr Gomersall has ‘one-and-a-half ’ allotments, measuring 250 sq m. Waiting lists are competitive, and growing, and he’s now looking to shrink his own plot. Gardeners were among the first to see restrictions lifted under lockdown, you see. Within four weeks, said Mr Gomersall, his waiting list had grown from four people to 26.
Now interest is rising again. No longer is it the “flat cap brigade”, with retired gentlemen, he insisted, but more than half of those waiting are young families keen to grow their own veg.
“It’s lovely,” he said. “Now we have Easter egg hunts. That’s why I picked it up, from being five years old and helping my dad. It sticks in your mind.
“My daughter’s 40 now, and there’s still nothing she likes better than coming to dig the first potatoes out of my garden.
“It’s a bit primeval, isn’t it,” he mused. “There’s nothing lovelier than getting your hands a bit mucky in the garden. It’s the best thing since sliced bread.”
Gardening – it’s the best thing since sliced bread.
Phil Gomersall, National Allotment Society.