Cultivating An Island Life

The Dell Garden, Bressingham, Norfolk, George Plumptre explores the legacy of the great nurseryman Alan Bloom, via his remarkable Norfolk garden

Curiosity about and a passion for plants and introducing new varieties is embedded in the history of British gardening. one of the richest veins it has produced has been the succession of great nurserymen who have also created admired gardens—usually to display their plants in a way that would help their businesses. in the 18th century, there were George London and Henry Wise in partnership at their Brompton Nursery in London; in the 19th century, there was the Veitch dynasty, who created the Exotic Nursery in London and Exeter Nurseries; and, in the 20th century, there was Alan Bloom at Bressingham in Norfolk.

For any gardener of a certain age, Alan was arguably the most significant British gardener of the post-second World War period. His impact was summed up by Michael Leapman in the tribute he wrote after Alan’s death, aged 98, in 2005. ‘i first set eyes on him some 13 years ago—a tall man, still muscular though well into his eighties, his thick white hair tumbling below his shoulders as he forked up clumps of aconites for sale at the family garden centre he had founded 40 years earlier at Bressingham in Norfolk. yet although he looked for all the world like an ageing hippie, he had been one of the most innovative plantsmen of the post-war years, responsible for a profound change in the look of British gardens.’

Alan’s appearance in his later life was recalled with affection by all who knew him. Even the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) refers to him as ‘a kind of horticultural pirate’, but beneath the long hair and earrings was the same passionate, knowledgeable and generous gardener who had started a revolution in 1953 when he embarked on creating his Dell garden with his very first island bed.