Six questions on gardening: Simon Vivian
Earliest memories of gardening:
My earliest memories of gardening come from a large garden at our home in Domasi, Malawi (then Nyasaland). This was in the first half of the 1950’s and I would have been about 4-5 years old. There weren’t many shops to go to, so we grew a lot of fruit and vegetables. We employed 2 gardeners and I remember ‘helping’ them in digging veg beds. I have old cine films showing the garden, so that memory has been kept alive. We also grew cannas and other exotic plants so the garden was a delightful place to be in. We often had tea in the garden at 4pm, very English!
At the age of 8 I went away to boarding school and so from then till leaving at 18 I wasn’t involved in gardening. Also being a teenager I had many other interests.
I think my very first garden that I called my own was in Cornwall in 1974. I was living in a caravan with my girlfriend of the time on a small holding owned by friends. I was a tin miner by day. The parents of one of my friends came to live there. He was retired after working many years at Kew gardens. He encouraged me to start to grow vegetables. There was a grassed area in front of the caravan which I dug up and tilled using a powered Merry Tiller. I created rows of various vegetables which grew rapidly in that fertile soil and benign climate. This was very rewarding and I spent long hours tending it that year. I moved away the following year so not sure what happened to that.
Why start?
Whether it was in Malawi or Cornwall, I think that I became interested in gardening through the enthusiasm of others. Once started ‘proper’ I lost myself in working the soil and creating something out of the bare earth. After being underground most of the day in the mine coming out after lunch and home to garden in the sun was wonderful – it was summer time.
Why do you keep gardening?
Our first house together we owned had a small back and front garden. We had 2 very small children and the back garden was really a play area for them and the guinea pigs they kept. The front garden wasn’t enclosed but we had a few plants I tended to but nothing special. Much of our time was wrapped up in work and child rearing.
The first garden after that at a new house was well established and needed maintenance (hedges, shrubs and grass) which kept me busy but also led to clearing and planting out a few plants alongside the swing and climbing frame. We liked sitting in the garden in the sun and enjoying the peace when there was some.
How long have you been gardening?
It depends what you mean by gardening. I had an interest at an early age, 4-5 years old but I think it was in my late 20’s when I really became a gardener. Still with limited time due to family and work commitments.
Thinking about how long reminds me that there came a time in my 30’s when I could go out to do a job in the garden and end up hours later still outside with the sun going down and working while only just able to see!
I think this answers the next question in that I love just being in the garden, usually on my own, getting my hands in the soil a bringing new life there and encouraging the older plants to spread their metaphorical wings and blossom.
What do you love and what dislike about gardening?
Probably the only thing I don’t like about gardening is going outside when the weather is cold and wet. However, if I do go out in not such good weather I soon get used to it and enjoy myself. It’s not a chore. Coming in from the garden and sitting down with a cup of tea feeling properly tired is great.
Has your attitude changed over time?
I now enjoy myself more and don’t worry if plants decide to do their own thing rather than what I had envisaged. I get done what I can, no pressure. Always great to see the cycle of the garden from season to season and year to year, wondering how it will all turn out and then being pleasantly surprised sometimes.
All is well.