How does your garden grow

Bob Flowerdew’s family has been farming the green and pleasant land of Norfolk and Suffolk for more than 500 years. This Flowerdew could have followed in his forefathers’ footsteps but instead he chose to share his green-fingered expertise with the entire nation. A charismatic broadcaster, public speaker and prolific writer, Bob Flowerdew is a much respected voice of wisdom on BBC Radio 4 Gardener’s Question Time and universally recognised as Britain’s leading organic gardener. He is also the designer of the new Garden of Remembrance at the recently restored PDSA Animal Cemetery in Ilford.

Many people see their garden as a place of peace and quiet contemplation: the spiritual side of Bob Flowerdew would take this thought a stage further. “I’m not religious, well not in the way of priests and churches but I do believe that gardening is doing God’s work,” explains Bob, whose distinctively mellow voice is capable of bewitching any congregation. “Ask anyone where they and their family are happiest and they will tell you that it’s in a garden, in the sunshine. We all, at some time, feel the need to be in tune with nature and ourselves. We need to feel close to paradise. I’m lucky to have that experience every day.”

Plot of paradise

Bob Flowerdew’s plot of paradise lies in Norfolk. The garden of the stylish 1930s bungalow he shares with his wife, twins and three cats is an eclectic mix of established shrubs and plants and experimental rows and beds. It’s a reflection of the man who combines a deep respect for the traditional approach to the care of the soil with the rebel who wants to challenge the traditional and prove new ideas possible. After all, this gardener can boast unrivalled success in growing sun-loving exotic fruits in rainy old England. And if you don’t believe him, you only have to take a look along the windowsills of his house, all laden with ripening guavas and pineapples.

“What people don’t believe, until they taste it, is that a UK-grown and ripened pineapple can taste so much better than the varieties flown thousands of miles to meet the supermarket demand,” says Bob who, as fans of Gardener’s Question Time will know, has nothing less than a purist stance on organic gardening. “It’s an education and it’s all to do with stretching the boundaries of the land and showing how rich the earth can be if we respect it, feed it and take the time and trouble to understand it.”

Growing up on a farm taught the young Bob Flowerdew all he needed to know about a love of the land and a love of animals. For him, the two things have always been a partnership. Free-range chickens, geese and ducks were a happy feature of the family home but a visit to a friend’s battery farm was a startling revelation: “I remember feeling tremendously sad. It was the start of years of vegetarianism because I just couldn’t come to terms with the cruelty. Although I eat meat now, I still don’t like how some stock is treated and I’m careful where our meat at home is sourced. I hate the lack of respect for animals in death as well as during their short lives and, where I can, I always try to remind people of the words of Saint Francis of Assisi who had a simple message when it came to animals, and I’ve found it to be true throughout my life and a long succession of pets. He said: ‘If you give animals food and care they will like you.’ It’s common sense and so important because their affection is so honest and trusting.”

Cats come calling

Bob’s first pet love was a yellow Labrador called Sally. She is forever remembered as a dog with a sweet nature and a listening ear: “It broke my heart when I lost Sally,” said Bob. “I was only three years old at the time and it was much later that I discovered Sally had not died but was given away to save the cost of her food. I was distraught. I know my mother had tried to protect me from the truth but in the end it hurt me more. It represented not just the loss of a pet but also of my best friend. I have to admit that a part of me still misses her.”
A lifetime spent alongside cats has given this gardener a relaxed approach to cats in the garden. Smokey and Spot are the rodent patrol currently training up young Miaou, but over decades there have been many more cats in the house: Pontious, Scamper, Sophie, Moses, bless them all. One old tabby, Shortly, arrived one Sunday afternoon during a family barbecue and never left. Bob explains: “We have always had cats in our home and they have all been very special and tolerant of the other characters we have here including ducks and geese. But, if it were possible, I would really love to have a dog again.”

Cats and gardeners rarely make a happy combination but the Flowerdew home is feline friendly, and so is the garden. “Cats have a language I seem to understand and I sense we have a mutual trust, so we get along just fine.” However, the secret of Bob’s success with cats in the garden has to be his relaxed approach to combining gardening and cat ownership, as he explains: “We have to work with nature. For instance, we know that cats like warm, dry spots so keep your seed bed wet. We know cats are lazy so make it a challenge for them to mess in the garden or make it easy for them by placing a litter tray in the border. There’s always a way to enjoy both the cats and success in the garden. It just requires some forethought and common sense.”

Take over or make over?

When PDSA asked Bob Flowerdew if he would design the Garden of Remembrance at the recently restored PDSA Animal Cemetery in Ilford he responded quickly and with an enthusiastic “yes”! His plan for a scented garden of herbs, shrubs and willow was perfect for the tranquil location and the enduring essence of remembrance. So, was it the project or the chance to turn over new soil that attracted him? “Both, I think. Reworking an
established garden is like taking on someone else’s wife but having a plot of virgin land is every gardener’s dream. The PDSA Garden of Remembrance was an opportunity to create something that could be shared: not a botanical garden, nor another Eden project but a simple, gentle garden for the other senses as well as the eyes.

“When I travel I love to see how people tend and treasure their gardens. I’m not interested in the huge state parks; I like the small homely patches of land where the real gardening is done. For me, my ideal would be to discover a new island, the size of Madeira maybe, and create a new Eden for every one, two-legged or four- to share and enjoy in their own way.
“We must never forget that we are all responsible for our small plot on the planet, so can make a difference and do our bit to make the world a better place for humans and animals alike.”

The PDSA Garden of Remembrance, designed by Bob Flowerdew, will be opened to the public later in the year.

01/03/2008