In the core of the historic Fulham Palace Garden , Lucy Hart has been the guiding helping hand behind a decade of growth , pore on sustainability and handiness throughout her 11 - twelvemonth stint as Head Gardener .
Beginning her horticulture journeying at just 13 , Lucy develop a profound love for plants , a Passion of Christ that has only deepened over the year .
I chatted with Lucy about her early experience at Kew Gardens , the challenge of gardening with climate alteration and her succeeding architectural plan at Fulham Palace Garden .
Can You Share Your Earliest Gardening Memory And How It Influenced Your Passion For Plants?
“ I get into gardening purely by chance , as I worked at the local greenhouse near where I lived on Saturdays because I needed some money when I was just 13 , ” Lucy explains .
“ I worked there and realise how much I loved go with plants . They had a small retail subdivision , but I function with the plants , deadheading and pot them up . I then give way straight to horticultural college at 16 and did a National Diploma in Plant Production .
“ I work at some specialist nursery during a year out there and still to this sidereal day refer back to the experiences I had during this fourth dimension . After that , I went to Chelmsford and did a degree in Horticulture and began to make for in other areas of the manufacture , before refocussing on works - found Job .
Image by Marcus Dawes
“ I did some work experience at Beth Chatto andGreat Dixter , before [ starting my ] sheepskin at Kew , which led me to more botanical work . I worked there for 8 class and I then move to my current role at Fulham Palace , where I have been for 11 years . ”
Can You Tell Us More About Your Role As The Head Gardener At Fulham Palace?
“ I am creditworthy for the 13 - acre garden . We are a historical house and garden assailable 7 days a week complimentary of complaint , and we are an main charity .
“ There are 6 of us who make up the horticulture team and also 65 participating volunteers who come in and help to garden every week . We also have beekeepers and greenkeepers . It ’s a huge squad endeavor and a lot of fun !
“ There are so many different aspects of horticulture that people can shape in and probably do n’t see . At Fulham Palace , we are running a ‘ get into gardening ’ scheme that is [ plan ] for younger mass from deprived background signal – to help them get into horticulture and see the benefits of it . ”
Image by Linval Bartley
How Do You Approach The Challenge Of Balancing The Conservation Of Historical Aspects Of The Garden With The Need For Modernisation And Sustainability?
“ Bishop Compton , who hold up at Fulham Palace in the late 1600s and early 1700s , had a real interest in grow plants , ” she explains . “ He used his missioner to send works material from the country they visited which he would then grow and cultivate on internet site .
“ There ’s been a site here since 703 , but there was also popish activity here prior to that . When you ’re garden on a scheduled monument , which we are , that ’s really catchy , because there are lots of rules about what you could and ca n’t do to protect the archaeology .
“ It is all part of a tremendous story , so we take reward of that by growing the works that were antecedently grown at the gardens , which we have been able to cultivate .
Image by Marcus Dawes
“ In terms of biodiversity , it ’s all about educating the world through the changes we make . ”
What Is Your Favourite Thing About Your Job?
“ We have a wall gardenwhere we grow vegetablesand then sell them , which is a decisive part of our income , ” explains Lucy .
“ Making income from gardening and growing thing for mass to buy is a wonderful thing which we get a lot out of .
“ exercise closely with unpaid worker is great too . There are a passel of people who just want to give and avail out , so it ’s really nice to be out there garden with them .
Image by Marcus Dawes
“ “ I also have it off working at Fulham Palace because we are constantly strain to ameliorate our site through restoration and unexampled projects .
“ We are broaching important subjects such as colonialism and transatlantic bondage within our museum and our botanic collection and we advance wildlife and biodiversity throughout the garden as well as make it productive and beautiful . ”
Can You Share Some Of The Challenges You Faced When You Started As The Head Gardener At Fulham Palace & How You Overcame Them?
“ Everyone is in all likelihood feel it , but the fiscal challenge post - pandemic and the current economical crisis are difficult to grapple , in add-on to the fact we have a low budget .
“ I do get laid the fact that anything we do , everyone bit in to aid if they can . For example , wemake a lot of lavender bag , so I ’ll inquire for cloth from the community and be met with great deal of helpful hand . ”
What Are Your Future Plans For The Fulham Palace Garden & How Do You See It Evolving In The Next Few Years?
“ We ’re really attached to getting other the great unwashed require in horticulture , as I note before , ” she shares .
“ I believe we are all just starting to realise that horticulture is so good for our wellbeing . I ’ve never had so many program for our most recent uptake of apprentices , which is capital .
“ We are move to be looking at changing one of the areas in our glasshouse so we can have an indoor space for horticulture activities . Also , a lot of the succeeding body of work will just involve adapting to the change climate .
“ For example , a tidy sum of trees in our plantation are suffering at the moment . In a historic garden , you want to grow a lot of heritage stuff , but I ’ve notice it is not thriving , so we ask to equilibrate that a little more . ”
Do You Have Any Advice For Those Thinking Of Giving A Career In Horticulture A Go?
“ It ’s all I ’ve ever done and I ’m still acquire so much , even after 33 years ! ” Lucy says .
“ I ’d say to those thinking of opting for a career in gardening that you are never going to get bored and I ca n’t recommend it enough because of that .
“ I feel inside to have find horticulture as a career and am very felicitous to be where I am now . ”
