On 30th
June, the Monday Club visited the home and gardens of David & Anne Hirst in
Port William. Tea on the lawn was followed by a guided tour, with hedges to
break the wind and salt and the Gulf Stream less than 100 yards away, a number
of tender plants are being cultivated.
The garden is
divided into rooms, for over 20 herbs, soft fruit, a mini orchard, asparagus,
and a whole array of vegetables all grown in raised beds made from recycled
plastic fish boxes. Part of the garden is given over to 17 solar panels,
providing renewable electricity for the house, and part to a wild flower
meadow, carefully managed to provide the food plants for all 19 butterflies, identified
by Butterfly Conservation as breeding in this area. Another wild flower area
provides a long season of nectar plants for butterflies, bees and moths and
many can be seen feeding there on a sunny day. At the bottom of the garden, and
accessible to the public, is the skeleton of a 20 foot Minke Whale, washed up
on the beach in 2008, and licensed by SNH as it is a European Protected
Species.
The greenhouse
and cold frames provide 9 varieties of tomato, cucumbers, peppers, aubergines,
watercress, coriander, pak choi and 7 different kinds of lettuce and salad
leaves. Figs are ripening in the garden and a row of grapevines are just
beginning to fruit outdoors. The whole
garden is managed organically, with 8 large compost bins in constant use and
has been designed for ease of working for someone who is less able to carry out
all the tasks in a large garden. Assistance with the heavy work is provided by
Andrew Wilson of Lowland Gardening.
