WHY IS it that the gardens of all our previous winners in the Huddersfield Examiner Garden of the Year competition have been hidden away from the prying eyes of the general public?
Our 2009 winner, Margaret Beever is no exception. Her beautiful cottage garden is tucked away in a little hamlet above Holmfirth and I can remember when Val Javin and I drove down the narrow track to the hamlet on our judging tour last July, we were faced with this quite superb garden surrounding the house where Margaret and her husband Philip live.
When I went to interview them a few weeks ago, Margaret was still very concerned about the devastation that 20 ins of lying snow for two weeks might have had on the garden this year, but within a few minutes of searching, I was able to find the signs of life that Margaret was hoping for. But, at around 150 metres (500’) above sea level our British climate can be very cruel.
Margaret and her husband started gardening their land over 20 years ago and discovered that the site had obviously been a dumping ground for boiler waste and building waste, perhaps from the nearby mill that Margaret worked at, leaving them with a lot of rubbish to dispose of and very little good soil.
With Margaret’s developing gardening skills as a plantswoman and Philip’s skills as a joiner, the garden gradually took shape, with a little help from her favourite TV gardener, Geoff Hamilton, as he dished out pearls of wisdom every Friday evening.
Margaret’s enthusiasm found her visiting many of the regions National Gardens’ Scheme Open Gardens, from which her got lots of ideas, support, plants and even more enthusiasm.
Her favourite plants include astrantia, penstemons, agapanthus, verbenas, clematis, phlox, salvias, cleome and astilbe, all of which fit perfectly into the relaxed cottage garden image that she has worked so hard to achieve.
Her mentors have included Geoff Hamilton, Dan Pearson, Joe Maiden, Chris Beardshaw and Alan Titchmarsh, all of whom have given her inspiration to turn a rather unyielding patch of ground into a haven of colour, peace and tranquillity.
Margaret and her husband have been enjoying the 2009 Garden of the Year winners’ prize in Cornwall, visiting The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Lanhydrock and The Eden Project on a four day holiday.
This year’s Garden of the Year Competition will be launched next Wednesday, April 21st and the application form will be there and on Saturday’s Gardening pages until late June, for you to complete.
We look forward to seeing some more superb hidden gems across our district this year and who knows, I might be writing about you and your garden at this time next year.
