Sally’s Garden

Sally Harris’s garden is not only a work of art but a labour of love, the fruits of which are apparent in the scents, the colours and the textures of the blooms that come into flower in the summer months. Sally Is a self-taught gardener whose passion for gardening was ignited in the early years of moving to Frognall. As the years have gone by her confidence has grown to the extent that she even grew the flowers from seed for her daughter’s wedding three years ago. Even her brother, also a keen gardener, grew extra flowers and brought them all the way from the Isle of Wight including the ferry crossing! What started out as a part time hobby has now become a lifetime passion.

Starting out with a second-hand greenhouse, Sally harvests seeds as soon as they are available. In the winter months when it is wet and cold and impossible to get outdoors time is spent carefully selecting more seeds. Packets are available from supermarkets, garden centres and sometimes people harvest their own and sell them on for charity. Using durable seed trays which are washed and reused, the seeds are sown in February or March. Sally now has a larger greenhouse where the trays for her own garden and her daughter’s can be comfortably accommodated. She has been known to put the trays of seeds in the spare bedroom where they can be started off if spring is a little cold.

The trays are filled with seed compost and watered, then the seeds sprinkled on top and a thin coating of compost is then sieved over them. Making sure that the compost is damp enough, the seeds can be left to grow. A weather eye is kept on them to make sure that the compost doesn’t dry out. When watering Sally uses a small can with a fine sprinkler. When the shoots start to emerge after about three weeks and are sturdy enough to be transplanted they can be put into pots. If grown indoors they can be placed in an unheated greenhouse or cold frame. During warm spells, leave the window and door of the greenhouse open in the day, close at night and water each day to avoid the plants drying out. When the time is right the pots should be ’hardened off ’ outside for up to a fortnight before planting in the garden.

May Day Bank holiday is usually Sally’s D-day for planting seedlings out into the garden. A 1.5 litre bag of top soil is mixed with manure and chicken pellets, and this will cover an 8’ border up to a depth of 6”. From a mix of cosmos, geraniums, rudbeckia, salvias, dahlias, impatiens, pansies, ageratum and marigolds, the taller plants are placed at the back of the border and Sally likes to overplant so that the border will be full to overflowing when the blooms come out, allowing for the exuberant feel that typifies her garden.

Once a week the plants are watered with Miracle Grow and during hot weather the garden is watered twice a day, early in the morning and again in the evening to stop the water from quickly evaporating. It is most effective to aim the hose at the stem bases under the foliage canopy leaving the surrounding soil dry which may also prevent the spread of weeds. A water butt or two is essential to capture the rainwater which is softer than tap water and without chlorine which can inhibit the uptake of nutrients. Once the blooms start coming, regular deadheading keeps the border looking attractive and directs energy into stronger growth and more flowers, until the time comes when the seeds begin to be harvested and the process starts all over again for another year! Words & pictures Sally Harris