My Garden

The Fifth Garden

Last post 20-01-2009 8:44 PM by Digger. 13 replies.

• 19/01/2009 05:43 PM

  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743

  Reply | Contact Hello RHS directors, Just before the election of RHS officials the idea of a fifth garden was put forward, Have you decided where the new fifth garden is going to be yet? We only have Harlow Carr up here in the North, but it is on the Eastern side of the Peninnes, here in Lancashire on the Westsern side of the peninnes we have much harsher weather conditions than you do at Harrogate and we have higher rainfall, it wpould be ideal for the fifth garden to be here in Lancashire, we have an excellent motorway network all ready laid out, we have a very high population here as well, so the garden would get lots of visitors and lots of volunteers to help out at the new garden, also we have a lot of empty land going spare and common agricultural land can be bought relatively cheaply, how many acres of land do you think we will need for an ideal garden? if we get some empty land it will be the ideal opportunity for the RHS to build a purpose built visitor and research garden, it would be ideal for the schools to learn about gardening as well. It would be realistic and be a true representation of actual conditions, we here a lot about dry gardening and gardening in a drought etc.. but the fact of the matter is that in Lancashire we get up to eight feet of rain water in a year almost twice the amount you get at Harlow Carr, we get really wet weather all year round and as a consequence the dry gardening and drought tolerant plants etc.. are meaningless to people in Lancashire, I hope and pray for a dry garden but it's not going to happen, if you build the new garden in Lancashire you will get the gist of what the weather is like and your trials will have meaning for people who live on the North Western side of the Peninnes, I can find some property for sale quite easily and cheaply as prices have now dropped, we could with  some thoughtful planning have our very own Wisley up here in Lancashire, If you come up to Lancashire I will be more than happy to show you some good places available to develop a garden and laboratory and research centre, this is the ideal chance for the RHS to develop Lancashire as the hub of northern horticulture. We could probably get some lottery money to put towards the cost as well also we could have a bio sphere like the one in Wales, and the garden could be used as a teaching resource, lots of schools need to learn how to make compost and things, of course we will need lots of volunteers to help out, but due to the high population in nearby towns and cities we will have lots of free help. Thankyou for your time. digger

• 19/01/2009 07:24 PM	In reply to
  dwarfbean Location: north west Joined on: 26 Dec 2008 Posts: 18	Reply | Contact Digger, I know that I'm biased being a Lancashire man but I think that this would be a wonderful idea. I'm sure that some land could be found that is not too far away from a motorway junction M6 or M61. It would be perfect. dwarfbean

• 19/01/2009 07:50 PM	In reply to
  Phot's-Moll Location: The sunny South coast. Joined on: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 3,347	Reply | Contact Gets my vote too - even though I live 'down South'. Building it from scratch would be interesting - and teaching children to appreciate plants is very important. The sixth one should be a seaside garden in Hampshire (OK, I admit to being biased with that suggestion)   Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.

• 19/01/2009 11:23 PM	In reply to
  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743	Reply | Contact I think the M6 corridor is too low down move a little further west and you get into a higher altitude, just what's needed to test growing in adverse conditions but I will settle for anywhere in Lancashire i will show the directors the best places when they come up to see Lancashire and if there is time I will take them to the treacle mines at Sabden digger

• 20/01/2009 10:05 AM

  In reply to

  VP Location: Chippenham Joined on: 14 Jan 2009 Posts: 32

  Reply | Contact I agree a fifth garden would be wonderful, but need to plea on behalf of those members who are currently nowhere near an RHS garden. Here in Wiltshire, the closest RHS garden is 2 hours away. People in the Midlands, Scotland and Northern Ireland are 2 hours or more away from one. This situation wouldn't change if a new garden was sited in Lancashire. VP http://vegplotting.blogspot.com

• 20/01/2009 10:05 AM

  In reply to

  Inga Location: London Joined on: 12 Nov 2008 Posts: 4

  Reply | Contact Thanks Digger for your question. We would love to have a fifth garden and even a sixth as suggested by Phot’s – Moll. As you can see everyone will have their own views about where the next gardens should be. The NW would be great to balance Harlow Carr but the South West would also be a good idea. Geography is one consideration but also soil type and aspect. As you know all our current gardens are different in aspect and soil type and we would like to look for something different in a fifth garden to demonstrate what can be done. Starting from scratch would be great, even in a more urban location. We are always open to looking at opportunities that come up or even working in partnership with other organisations. Over the years we have had the chance to also look at the real cost of taking on our gardens at Harlow Carr, Hyde Hall and Rosemoor. If we do take on another we would have to make sure that we have a garden that could be up to RHS standards or at least got to that over time. You will not be surprised to hear that finance will of course be a big consideration in the current environment and we need to make sure we do not let the horticultural standards slip in our existing gardens. Inga

• 20/01/2009 10:09 AM	In reply to
  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743	Reply | Contact Hi, Probably every member wants a garden to be nearby to them, and Ideally this would mean a garden in each county! but Lancashire  does have a lot of positive aspects, I shall wait patiently. digger

• 20/01/2009 10:14 AM	In reply to
  Inga Location: London Joined on: 12 Nov 2008 Posts: 4	Reply | Contact Lancashire does have lots of positive aspects. Let's hope tough economic times get more people to enjoy the value of gardening, make more of their gardens and join the RHS. More members will help us get to number five. Inga

• 20/01/2009 10:25 AM

  In reply to

  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743

  Reply | Contact I can see people using their gardens more and try growing vegetables for the first time etc.. but I fear the current economic situation will have a negative impact on RHS memberships, not mine though. The upshot is that land is going down in price and we've lots of land in Lancashire and we do have more miles of motorway than any other county, and our urban areas are very heavily populated, it was indeed the idea of the fifith garden that promted me to get involved in the election of officials which I don't usually do. A local council in St.Helens put forward the idea of building a large bio sphere and using the green waste to heat it up, the idea has been shelved due to financial restraints, but that would have been an ideal project for the RHS to get involved with, we really do need a big horticultural project up here, in the current economic climate the RHS could take a leading role in kick starting the local economy, I'm sure we can raise the money for such a project. digger

• 20/01/2009 11:06 AM	In reply to
  Inga Location: London Joined on: 12 Nov 2008 Posts: 4	Reply | Contact Any ideas you have for raising money for projects would be gratefully received and we are happy to talk to any other organisations about working together. We must keep focussed on the Hort aspects of what we do.Simon may have something to say? Inga

• 20/01/2009 11:16 AM

  In reply to

  Simon Thornton-Wood Location: Wisley Garden Joined on: 12 Jan 2009 Posts: 10

  Reply | Contact Digger - I know a bit about the St Helen's proposal and the concept is certainly an exciting one. I know that it was inspired by the Victorian approach to cultivating exotic fruit, using composting materials to generate heat. This is an exciting opportunity to explore the idea on an industrial scale, but I am not sure that it would be an obvious experiment for the RHS to conduct! Simon Simon Thornton-Wood Director of Science & Learning

• 20/01/2009 11:21 AM	In reply to
  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743	Reply | Contact If the scheme did get enough momentum in St. Helens , the RHS could use the interest in that venture to launch the campaign for the Lancashire garden? The RHS is probably the most respected horticultural charity in the world and as a society I feel sure we can have the fifth garden within the next ten years. digger

• 20/01/2009 08:29 PM	In reply to
  dwarfbean Location: north west Joined on: 26 Dec 2008 Posts: 18	Reply | Contact Digger, The directors will have to be quick if they are going to visit the treacle mines at Sabden. I've heard that this seem is running out and they are hoping to sink a deep mine shaft in Bury. dwarfbean

• 20/01/2009 08:44 PM	In reply to
  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743	Reply | Contact i've heard that too dwarfbean, but some of the treacle miners will be able to get work in Bury at the black pudding bending factory, that'll keep em busy until the new shaft gets dug digger