For some, their garden is a place of peace and tranquillity. For others, it’s a haven of productivity and profit. Anna Tyzack meets the lucky few for whom it’s both
FOUR small, raised beds: this, according to the RHS, is all you need to feed a family. If you’re prepared to put in a few more, however, you can have a business. This was how gardeners in London made a living in the 17th century—Chelsea was a sea of productive market gardens and Fulham was famed for its carrots. Soaring land values put an end to this, but, after the Second World War, market gardens were again Britain’s lifeblood, says Kate Collyns, author of Gardening for Profit.
Certainly, this is how Jane Scotter of Fern Verrow, a biodynamic market garden in Herefordshire, and Rachel Siegfried, who runs a cutting garden in Oxfordshire, are making a living. Miss Siegfried also hosts workshops, teaching others to run their own profitable growing businesses, together with floral-design, photography and botanical-art courses.
You don’t even have to grow produce to profit: garden designers use their gardens to show their work and those with important gardens, such as The Prince of Wales, can open theirs to the public. The Highgrove garden is open for guided tours between April and October and there’s also a shop and restaurant for visitors.
Rarely, says Miss Siegfried, will you make a fast fortune—gardens are too costly and time-consuming to maintain. ‘They involve long hours, hard labour and the frustrations of failed crops and bad weather,’ agrees Miss Collyns. ‘Even a tiny-scale business must be professionally run if it’s to survive.’
It is, however, impossible to get bored, surrounded by Nature and the changing seasons. This, according to Miss Siegfried, is the true value of living off the garden. ‘It might not be hugely profitable,’ she concedes, ‘but your lifestyle is rich.’
Rachel Siegfried, floriculturist, Oxfordshire
Denne historien er fra August 07, 2019-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra August 07, 2019-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
