Okay, so how did I get interested in gardening, I hear you say….

Well, firstly my name is Sarah, I have been working within the Horticulture Environment for a number of years. 
I first became interested in gardening as a child when I used to stay with both my sets of grandparents, one set lived in the country, they had a bungalow in Camborne (Cornwall) and I used to help my grandad grow all his own vegetables, fruit, plants and shrubs.  Although I must admit that harvesting and eating his produce interested me more than actually preparing the ground and sowing the seeds.  I would much prefer to be captivated by the ever present wildlife in their garden, especially the abundance of ladybirds which all seem to be attracted to the conifers at the front of the garden and the huge number of snails that attached themselves on the walls under foliage and the brave beatles making a dash from stones I had turned over to find something interesting. My grandad used have me in uncontrollable laughter as he jumped up and down with fustration as the cheeky birds swooped down to eat the newly sown seeds, every now and again my gran and I would hear the noise of my grandad in the garage making a new contraption to scare the birds away from his veg and fruit patches in his never ending battle with them. 

Ooh and there was my Gran’s anitrimums (snap dragons) a vision of hazy colours, yellows, orange and red colour with their heads swaying in the breeze.  I used to press the heads together to make them snap like a dragon (hence the name),  this used to fascinate me for hours, well probably not that long.  I also used to love popping the heads of fuchsias that had not yet opened, the noise sounded so satisfying; and then to see the display of brightly coloured petals, obviously to the annoyance to my gran who would shout from the sitting room. 

My other set of grandparents lived in the city of Leicester, it was my grandad who was the avid gardener who enjoyed growing an assortment of plants and veg. The two that stick out most in my mind were tomatoes and hollyhocks; the hollyhocks were amazing, huge stems and the most beautiful blooms I’d ever seen.  

As my second set of grandparents lived in the city, garden space was at a premium so they had just enough space for a few pots, a shed and a small plot of land, but my grandad certainly made good use of the space, he would spend a few hours a day pottering around his shed and admiring his plants.

In fact I remember most of my family have at one stage or another being interested in gardening especially growing vegetables and fruit.  My aunt and uncle who live in the city of Leicester too, are really passionate about gardening.  Their house has a large back garden and is beautifully kept, they have a few plum and apple trees.  They also have a huge vegetable plot and used to grow all their vegetables.    

For me though in my early years, it was true nature and the countryside that fascinated me, still does, I just love being outdoors; from camping out in the rough terrain to long walks in the forests, woodland and not forgetting the beach too.  I found it wasn’t until my early thirties that the true passion of growing and then learning about plants took hold of me and “I haven’t looked back since”.  For me I enjoy nothing more than being wrapped up in a warm coat with my old wellies on and a trowel in my hand, heading off for a spot of gardening outside on a cold crisp day, with sun dazzling through the trees.