The first shoots of Spring are starting to appear
April 15, 2010
… the lawns are dotted with snowdrops, our old friends the daffodils are waving at us again. That intoxicating smell of full-bloom hyacinth is back wafting in the air. But what isn’t quite so obvious to many is that there’s a bit of a gardening revolution going on out there. No longer is it just the domain of the sprightly pensioner, but is now becoming very much the hobby of choice for the Yummy Mummy. Forget reading clubs or gym memberships, it’s gardening clubs that are springing up everywhere and providing fresh knowledge, companionship and muscles in previously unknown places.
One such club I happen to be acquainted with is, although in its infancy, gaining momentum by the week. A Mother and Toddler Group is decamping from the village hall to work in members’ gardens on a weekly rota basis. With happy toddlers out in the fresh air, steaming mugs of coffee in one hand and a pair of secateurs in the other, group mummy power is getting those all important spring pruning jobs done in a jiffy. So it’s win, win all round.
All over the country gardening websites and blogs are buzzing, online bulb sales are thriving and Horticultural Society membership is becoming as coveted as winning the lottery (well almost). My local Society’s Spring & Summer Shows are not to be missed highlights in the village social calendar. The best frocks come out for those ‘holding the trophy’ pictures in the local paper and everybody celebrates with a jolly nice cup of tea and a piece of WI cake in the Grand Marquee – which often turns into one or two celebratory drinkies in the local pub. It is an event!
However, don’t be fooled by visions of ladies in silky floral tea dresses floating around their gardens snipping their fragrant roses. It’s a war out there. The Cath Kidson gloves are most definitely on. The pink handled shears are well and truly sharpened. Competition is rife. Some are even willing to cheat. Shock! Horror! It is not unknown for the odd little white lie to be told in order to win that most coveted prize of say ‘Daffodil Grower of the Year’. I won’t mention any names just in case the local gardening mafia come and decapitate my dahlias. And the dear old daff is no longer just a daff. Forget the good old ‘Large Trumpet’, it’s the ‘Cyclamineus’ you’ve got to watch out for now. It’s all in the bulbs you know, and it is not unknown for serious money to change hands to get the most unique and unusual floral display. Even the poor old tulip is not immune – there are 14 categories to choose from – and it now has to be at the very least ‘parrot fringed’ to even get a look in!
And the competition doesn’t stop at flowers. What with our recession-busting motivated heads on we have moved back to the wartime ‘grow your own’ culture. Fruit and vegetable patches are springing up in even the very smallest of gardens proving that you don’t have to own at least an acre to be a serious gardener. The vegetable displays appearing at the local village fairs would not be out of place at The Chelsea Flower Show. The tender love and care that goes into growing a prize marrow is equal to that of caring for a newborn for some, and just as emotional.
Believe me I’ve witnessed the tears and the tantrums after those all important judges have left their mark. Forget about ‘it’s all in the taking part’, for some of my more green fingered friends when it comes to their tomatoes it’s the name on the silver or nothing. And let’s face it, it’s not for the prize money which currently stands at 50 pence for a first place winner. The more traditional past-times of the yummy mummy are taking a bit of a back seat. Take shopping; who needs The County Mall when you can go to Wyevale.
You may have noticed that the Crawley store is having a bit of a high class make-over – they are even selling fruit and veg soap that was previously only to be found in Fortnum & Masons. With a trendy new cafe, it will be here that the ladies who lunch will be hanging out as they discuss the very latest in exotic planting. So there you have it; to be in with the In Crowd these days you have to be ‘in’ the garden. So start swatting up on your agapanthus and get yourself down to your local garden centre before the competition get their first.
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