Starting Out
author: Showground GardenerWhen I was first thinking about The Showgarden Of Real Living and what it might become, I immediately thought about all the empty gardens being taken over by the new residents of the Clay and Glebe Farm developments. I thought about making a space for trying out ideas and demonstrating possibilities. I wanted the Showgarden to be a space where people could come and be inspired. There are lots of books and TV programmes that budding gardeners and veterans alike can turn to for information and advice, but they tend to illustrate what can be done with a pile of cash and bags of time. For those who have recently moved house, finding the money to create a garden might not be a priority – or even an option. I decided that I would try to find some low/no cost solutions.
I know a thing or two about being thrifty in the garden – I’ve never spent much on mine – and the best way to save money is to grow your own plants from seed, and to share plants with your friends and neighbours. So earlier in the year, I started sowing as many seeds as possible. Many of those seeds were kindly donated by Chiltern Seeds, D.T. Brown Seed Merchants, Marshall's Seeds and Suttons Seeds. Others were acquired at Trumpington’s very own annual Seed Swap, organised by Ceri Galloway and a team of tireless volunteers from Trumpington Allotment Society (TAS) and, more recently, Transition Cambridge. I planned to give away as many plants as possible and set up the swap box, so that everyone could get their hands on some free plants.
But what I didn’t plan – or expect – was the generosity of the residents of Trumpington, who have presented me with so many plants from their own gardens and greenhouses to give away. Despite there having been quite a bit of disquiet among the existing community in the past, objecting to the greenbelt location and the sheer size of the planned developments, Trumpington people – especially the members of Trumpington Gardening Society (TruGS) - have been very willing to welcome the new residents with loads of lovely living gifts.
I would like to thank everyone who has donated the plants and seeds that have kept the swap box stocked all summer. I hope the growing and gifting of plants will become a new Trumpington tradition, that helps the empty gardens in the new part of the village grow to rival the established gardens that have helped propagate them, in no time at all.