Lawson Park and Brantwood are two gardens reasonably close to my home, regularly open to the public…so why would I want to spend the whole of a sunny Sunday visiting them with PGG members? I hear you ask.
A special day
After all, there’s weeding and mowing, greenhouse watering and dogwalking to be done at home, not to mention family commitments that might take precedence. Well, I reply – a number of things combined to make this a special day, a significant improvement on visiting on my own or indeed, staying at home.
Firstly…
Head Gardeners Simone (Brantwood) and Karen Guthrie (Lawson Park) took myself and nine others around their respective gardens, explaining past management, current working arrangements and future plans. At Brantwood, faced with low staff numbers and a fixed budget, Simone has decided to leave the further edges of the estate to ‘rewild’, concentrating instead on revamping the central areas most used by visitors. Meanwhile, at Lawson Park, Karen is using native plants to colonise the outer edges of her garden, allowing her to focus on the higher maintenance areas with a team of volunteers. Both have found ways of managing, not only making the best of a difficult situation but putting a very positive spin on what seems like a difficult brief, whilst managing to incorporate wildlife and the natural landscape into their gardens.
Although their styles were quite different, both Head Gardeners were overwhelmingly optimistic and enthusiastic, it was a pleasure to walk around with them. I could tell that others thought the same, as we were still all together at the end of each tour (none of the usual spreading out, talking amongst ourselves or getting lost at the back). During the afternoon, we even added to our numbers as a couple of members of the public joined our group…
Secondly…
It’s always great to meet up with fellow gardeners. Our group of ten was made up mostly of Cumbrian gardeners (plus the intrepid Steve Elstub who made it across from the Yorkshire Dales) many of whom I had met at previous meetings, so we were able to catch up, exchange grumbles about the weather, exchange ideas and solve each others problems.
Thirdly…
Both gardens were lovely, albeit in their own different ways. Brantwood is an historic garden of contrasts, the calm, wild and naturalised plantings beloved by Ruskin alongside the brighter and more vibrant palette used by his cousin Joan Severn in the lower gardens. Lawson Park gardens were started in 2001, with no grand plan but a gradual expansion, including productive fruit and vegetable areas managed using permaculture principles.
Finally…
Finally the scenery surrounding both Brantwood and Lawson Park is just magnificent – we ate a picnic lunch half way up the fell separating the two gardens with a fantastic view over Coniston lake and the Old Man behind it. No road noise, just birds singing and insects buzzing. Oh, and did I mention that both venues were serving cake?
*Photos by Sylvia Watthews
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