Vicky Cronshaw of Darwen who recently won the small yard category in Whitehall in Bloom
DESCRIBE YOUR GARDEN
Well, it’s small, but I like that about it. It’s a typical terraced house backyard with flags and white walls.
It’s filled with loads of different types of flowers in about 30 pots — Hostas, Poppies, Lilies, Phormium, Heucheras, Cosmos and Pansies. I’ve also got some ornamental butterflies, a gargoyle that my mum bought for me, an aluminium table and chair set and solar lights to illuminate it in the evening.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE GARDEN?
I love to attract wildlife into the backyard, so I choose plants and flowers that are bee-friendly.
The bee population is in serious decline, so I like to play my part in their survival. They particularly like Foxgloves.
I’ve also grown some plants — Cosmos and Pansies — from seed. Also a plant called Nicotiana which is derived from the tobacco plant which has a pungent smell at night to attract moths.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO GARDENING?
I’ve followed in my mum’s foosteps. She loves gardening and is very knowledgeable.
I’ve only recently started doing my own as I only moved into my house in October 2011. The yard was empty when I moved in. I’ve transformed it.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FEATURE?
I like the pink and spikey Cordylline and the black spikey Phormium. They grow high up the walls and help to create an enclosed feeling. It’s my little safe haven.
When it’s sunny in the afternoon, the white walls make you feel like you’re abroad. I love to read or enjoy a cup of coffee out there.
HOW MUCH DO YOU SPEND ON THE GARDEN?
Hmmm, about £100, but it’s possibly more. But it’s well worth the time and effort.
WHY DO YOU ENJOY GARDENING?
It’s wonderful watching things grow. I probably spend about five hours a week tending it.
I work in an accounts office all week, so it’s nice to get out into my little yard. I work on the front yard in the winter.
I’m putting in lots of evergreens and variegated shrubs plus a Hellebore — it’s called the Christmas Rose because it has lovely little cream flowers in January and February.
There’s also a bench out there for me to sit and enjoy it all.
HAVE YOU SUFFERED ANY GARDENING CATASTROPHES?
Yes, with Vine Weasel. It’s a black beetle that lays its eggs in the soil of my Heuchars.
The larvae eat the roots of the plants.
You can buy a treatment for it, but you have to catch them quickly or they ruin your plants.
TOP GARDENING TIP
Keep on top of your dead-heading. You get the most out of your plants as they keep flowering.
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