Aiming for perfection

Not many gardeners have to contend with tanks, helicopters landing, marching bands or the presence of thousands of pairs of feet impacting on their lawn. For the Government House head gardener, Stuart Crossan, dealing with that type of problem is all in the day’s work. He spoke to Alasdair Crosby

‘The thing about gardens is that you can choose what to do and what to change, as you are always trying to achieve perfection. You never get there, but you are always aiming for something that is quite spectacular, always trying to improve it.’

The head gardener at Government House, Stuart Crossan, was describing his working philosophy on a sunny day in late April. The area he cares for comprises one of the largest gardens in the Island - 12 acres that include lawns, woodland, valleys and two ponds, a walled kitchen garden and herbaceous and shrub borders… but it is no more than a 15-minute stroll from there into the middle of town. In recent weeks the gardens have been made available for the public to enjoy. On 1 May there was an open garden event to benefit the Jersey Association for Youth and Friendship; and also, the Queen’s Birthday Reception a month later. Over the years, helicopters have landed on the lawn, parachutists have jumped on to the lawn, tanks have been driven on the grass and there have been bands Beating Retreat… not exactly things with which the average gardener has to contend.

Stuart said: ‘From late spring throughout the summer, the garden is used constantly, so you can’t start taking the place apart and changing things in mid-season.’

“Over the years,

helicopters have landed on the lawn, parachutists have jumped on to the lawn, tanks have been driven on the grass and there have been bands Beating Retreat

He has worked at Government House for the past 25 years, currently with two assistants, Filipe de Freitas and Nick Hartas. ‘It’s a unique place to work,’ he said, ‘with VIPs coming here on a regular basis, summer and winter. It’s not just a summer job and not just a summer garden. It’s always got to look at its best, all year round.’

Another unique feature of his workplace is that his boss changes every five years. Both the LieutenantGovernors and their wives have their own ideas about how the garden should look – naturally enough; it is their home, after all. Currently, Lady Dalton, wife of the present Lieutenant-Governor, is herself a keen gardener and she works closely with Stuart on gardening projects.

‘All the Lieutenant-Governors and their ladies are different and have different ideas about what is important to them,’ he said. ‘Lady Dalton and I both have a passion for gardens. I have worked very closely with her for five years now and developed areas of the garden from plans and drawings.’ There have been several changes in the past five years: the rose beds near the main lawn have gone (the rose bushes needed replacing, anyway) and in their place are knot gardens following designs inspired by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. New flower borders have been created.

Away from the more formal garden area near the house, steps lead downward to the woodland and pond – an area of the grounds in which the late General Sir Michael Wilkes, Lieutenant-Governor from 1995 to 2001, took a particular interest. A wide variety of birdlife take advantage of the pond: moorhens, ducks, barn owls, kingfishers and cormorants.

The waterway is well-channelled to prevent not only the garden area from flooding, but also the low ground at the foot of the hill. In windy weather branches fall from the trees and some of the trees in a dangerous condition need to be felled and replaced; 40 of them had to be felled after the snowy weather in the spring of 2013.

“The garden is a lovely place to work – and it is

my passion. It’s everything you might want. But it’s high maintenance. From the first function of the year to the very last, the standard has to remain high

In addition, there are the vegetable garden and the extensive flower beds that produce the cut flowers used to decorate the house’s interior … ‘it does keep us busy,’ Stuart commented.

‘The garden is a lovely place to work – and it is my passion. It’s everything you might want. But it’s high maintenance. From the first function of the year to the very last, the standard has to remain high and should not drop by the end of the season. The very first function has got to be as good as the very last one. ‘Many charities receive permission to hold events in the garden. For every charity and every function, an event at Government House and the gardens is a special day for them, and ensuring the day is special is why I like my job so much: making the day special and making the gardens “sing” to all our visitors.’