Star of BBC2's Save Lullingstone Castle offers Vine readers top tips on taking your gardening project from conception to fruition plus news of his brand new project at the World Garden: Hot and Spiky.
Hot and spiky – the name we finally settled on for the 1,000 strong collection of cacti, succulents and bromeliads housed in the new structure within the walls of the World Garden, Lullingstone.
We had all sorts of suggestions from Vine readers on what to call the place – The Prickly Palace came a close second, and although it worked well for the cacti in the house, it didn’t cover the hundreds of succulents including aloes that we now have under cover in Hot and Spiky. For a time, we nearly called the new structure ‘Bristles’ in honour of my sister – I’ve called Anya ‘Bristles’ for as long as I can remember, but similar to the ‘Prickly Palace’, the name didn’t represent the succulents.
Succulents are fantastic plants – I’ve been fascinated by them for years, but the building of Hot and Spiky has renewed my love affair with these unusual and diverse plants. I was also able to renew my acquaintance with a good friend, artist Will Jordan from Plaxtol. Will created the Baobab tree for us during the winter of 2006–7: a stunning structure which has been one of the most photographed areas of the World Garden, and indeed Lullingstone itself, since its unveiling last Easter.
Not afraid of a challenge, this amazing artist has stepped into the fray at Lullingstone yet again and created another piece of artwork to wow the visitors by designing and painting the mural on the wall of Hot and Spiky. And again, it was no mean feat. At 58 feet long and 16 feet high, the wall was a beast to cover!
The actual build of the five decoratively rock-lined beds representing canaries, South West USA, South America, South Africa and Mexico was achieved with the help of a cement mixer. We needed it to mix up the magic concoction of ballast, compost, acidic sand and drainage. The resultant rich mixture looks amazing and will be hugely nourishing for the hot and spiky plants. It was important for the mix to be slightly acidic as the hot and spikys prefer this.
And as with any artistic garden project or landscaping project, the mural and the creation of the beds within Hot and Spiky required a lot of planning, forethought and pooling of resources. Many of you will be embarking on new garden projects this spring. In fact the large chain stores and the smaller garden centres are counting on you and your pennies this Easter (just gone) to help swell their coffers as you wheel away their plants, rocks, sand and soil. I’ve spent the last four years learning all about what it takes to turn a project from a piece of paper into reality – and it’s not always easy.
Star of BBC2's Save Lullingstone Castle offers Vine readers top tips on taking your gardening project from conception to fruition plus news of his brand new project at the World Garden: Hot and Spiky.
