By Brian Hicks
Many people have taken up new hobbies and interests during Covid lockdowns and restrictions.
I returned from a six-day holiday in Turkey in October 2020 and had to self-isolate on my own for a fortnight because of a change in the rules.
My garden in Wokingham had become a jungle, growing wild over the eight years I was working in Germany.
A neighbour opposite had suggested I get a quote to cut it back from a guy who had been working on his garden. He was no doubt fed up with looking over at my eyesore for so many years. The price was very reasonable so I had the work done just before my Turkish holiday.
Faced with just my own company, I decided to tackle the remnants of the jungle and try to grow colourful plants to cheer myself up. I had never been into gardening in the past, apart from growing some carrots as a kid with my brother.
These were eaten by marauding sheep coming down from the moor in Ilkley (West Yorkshire) where we lived. I had always left gardening care to my ex-wife, who was a lady of the green-fingered variety.
I started going around garden centres every week and learnt a lot, especially about the changing seasons. I planted a wide range of shrubs, bulbs and bedding plants. There were a few disasters, as I was a novice.
I soaked 25 different anemone bulbs for too long and no plants emerged. However, the bluebell, narcissi, snowdrop and crocus bulbs came through well.
I also got hooked on house plants, especially Amaryllis, Anthurium and the Natal lily. I did not have any while working in Germany as they would all have died.
I started asking friends and neighbours who were keen gardeners for tips. One of the best was to use the Royal Horticultural Society website (www.rhs.org.uk). This enables you to find and list all your plants in your garden and receive tips on how to care for them.
It is free of charge and you do not need to be an RHS member. So far, I have introduced over 100 different species into my garden, but about 20 have died.
My favourites are my mimosa tree, holly hocks, foxgloves and dahlias.
A few months ago, I was due to meet some friends for dinner at a pub in Winchester. Walking through the grounds of Winchester Cathedral to get there I bumped into a man in a dinner jacket and bow tie who looked very familiar. It was the gardening superstar Alan Titchmarsh.
I said hello. Knowing he was brought up in Ilkley, just like me, asked him if he had known my older brother. I had read that Alan attended the same school as him, Ilkley Secondary Modern; they both failed the 11-plus.
We worked out he was a few years younger than my brother and he did not know him.
I did not get time to ask Alan my gardening questions as he was pressed for time and had to content myself with reading one of his books later. I asked him what he was celebrating. He told me he was the Chancellor of Winchester University and was hosting a degree ceremony that evening.
I reflected that my gardening trajectory could have been a lot different if I had known Alan in his Ilkley days. Hopefully some of his gardening magic might have rubbed off on me.
My neighbours are astounded by the transformation in my garden and some have been presenting me plants to encourage me further.
My life is so much richer, being closer to nature.
I only wish I had discovered this colourful new world sooner.
