A Rock Star Garden

Today was my first day at Darsham Nurseries (darshamnurseries.co.uk) in beautiful Suffolk county. David, the owner, bought the property over three years ago when it was only a dilapidated piece of land that once housed a garden store. It is impressive listening to people who are knowledgeable in horticulture - they can instantly tick off the Latin names of a wide variety of plants. Unfortunately, it was a very rainy day so I did very little work with the plants.

- Back to working with tomatoes in polytunnels. Here, the plant are tied to stakes instead of being twisted around them. It was surprising to be considered a "tomato expert" after I've only looked after them for three weeks.

- Cleaned out an old garage with lots of junk and pots of many sizes.

- Lots of watering inside the polytunnels. A good soaking with the hose is equivalent to two to three hour of pouring rain, so sustained precipitation is needed to really satisfy plants outdoors.

- The plants here are not organically grown. The main problem is a nasty pest called the vine weevil that lays its eggs in compost and grow into root-eating grubs that stealthily kill a plant. The compost used here contains a weevil inhibitor chemical, as well as some fertilizers to provide nutrients.

- It is sad to say, but rabbits are considered vermin here. There are so many in the countryside with an appetite for nursery products. The majority of the plants are up on tables made from long planks of wood. A local man comes around a few times a week to relieve the property of a few rabbits and presumably make some soup.

Plants cry their gratitude for the sun in green joy. - Terri Guillemets